Palystes

''Palystes'' is a genus of huntsman spiders, commonly called rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders, occurring in Africa, India, Australia, and the Pacific. The most common and widespread species is '' P. superciliosus'', found in South Africa, home to 12 species in the genus. The name ''Palystes'' is derived from either the Latin ''palaestes'' or the Greek ''palaistes'', meaning "wrestler". The genus was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1875.

Build

''Palystes'' species are large spiders, with a body length of 15–36 mm, and a leg span up to 110 mm. Their top side is covered in tan to dark tan velvety setae (hairs). The underside of their legs is banded in colour, and their legs and abdomens may be interspersed with slightly longer setae. They have a large moustachial stripe below their front eyes, and extending down their fangs.

Habits

While ''Palystes'' species mostly hunt insects on plants, they commonly enter houses before rain, or during the summer, where they prey on geckos (usually '' Afrogecko porphyreus'' in the Western Cape, or ''Lygodactylus capensis'' in the eastern parts of southern Africa). Males are regularly seen from August to December, probably looking for females.

The large, round egg sacs of '' P. castaneus'' and '' P. superciliosus'' are commonly seen from about November to April. After mating in the early summer, the female makes a 60- to 100-mm sac out of silk, with twigs and leaves woven into it. She constructs the sac over 3–5 hours, then aggressively guards it until the spiderlings, which hatch inside the protective sac, chew their way out about three weeks later. Females construct about three of these egg sacs over their two-year lives. Many gardeners are bitten by protective ''Palystes'' mothers during this period.

Venom

The size of ''Palystes'' spiders, combined with the banding on the underside of the legs exposed when the spider is in threat pose, give them a fearsome appearance. An experiment was done in 1959 where a ''P. superciliosus'' was allowed to bite an adult guinea pig on the nose. The guinea pig died within 7 minutes, leading to a belief that the spider's venom was dangerous. However, further research on anaesthetized guinea pigs showed that the original guinea pig had actually died of shock, rather than as a result of the spider's venom. In humans a ''Palystes'' bite is no more dangerous than a bee sting. It causes a burning sensation, and swelling which lasts for a few days. Recovery is spontaneous and complete.

Wasps

''Palystes'' spiders are also commonly seen paralysed, being dragged by a large wasp called a pompilid or spider wasp. Sometimes, the wasp is not present. Pompilid wasps only hunt spiders, which they paralyse by stinging them. They then drag the spider back to their nest where they lay an egg on the spider, then seal the spider and the egg in. When the egg hatches, the larva eats the paralysed spider, keeping the spider alive as long as possible by eating peripheral flesh first, and saving the vital organs till last. By doing this, the spider stays fresh long enough for the wasp larva to mature and pupate. The pompilid wasp species ''Tachypompilus ignitus'' is at least largely a specialist hunter of mature ''Palystes'' females.

Species

according to ''The World Spider Catalog, Version 23.5'': it contains twenty species
* ''Palystes ansiedippenaarae'' Croeser, 1996 — South Africa
* '' Palystes castaneus'' Latreille, 1819 — South Africa
* ''Palystes convexus'' Strand, 1907 — Madagascar
* ''Palystes crawshayi'' Pocock, 1902 — Lesotho
* '' Palystes ellioti'' Pocock, 1896 — Central, East Africa
* '' Palystes fornasinii'' Pavesi, 1881 — Mozambique
* '' Palystes hoehneli'' Simon, 1890 — Kenya, Tanzania
* '' Palystes johnstoni'' Pocock, 1896 — Botswana, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda
* '' Palystes karooensis'' Croeser, 1996 — South Africa
* '' Palystes kreutzmanni'' Jäger & Kunz, 2010 — South AfricaJäger, P. and D. Kunz. (2010)
''Palystes kreutzmanni'' sp. n. – a new huntsman spider species from fynbos vegetation in Western Cape Province, South Africa (Araneae, Sparassidae, Palystinae).
''ZooKeys'' 67 1-9.
* '' Palystes leppanae'' Pocock, 1902 — South Africa
* '' Palystes leroyorum'' Croeser, 1996 — South Africa
* '' Palystes lunatus'' Pocock, 1896 — South Africa
* '' Palystes martinfilmeri'' Croeser, 1996 — South Africa
* '' Palystes perornatus'' Pocock, 1900 — South Africa
* '' Palystes pinnotheres'' Walckenaer, 1805 — New South Wales, New Caledonia
* '' Palystes reticulatus'' Rainbow, 1899 — Santa Cruz Islands
* '' Palystes stilleri'' Croeser, 1996 — South Africa
* '' Palystes stuarti'' Croeser, 1996 — South Africa
* ''Palystes superciliosus'' L. Koch, 1875 — Southern Africa

Gallery

File:Palystes natalius02.jpg, Female '' P. superciliosus''
File:Palystes_natalius00.jpg, Underside of female ''P. superciliosus'', showing banding
File:Sparassidae Palystes superciliosus Male Ventral Aspect 0110s.jpg, Underside of male ''P. superciliosus''
File:Palystes natalius01.jpg, Female ''P. superciliosus''
File:Sparassidae_Palystes_castaneus_mature_female_9933s.jpg, Female '' P. castaneus''
File:Sparassidae_Palystes_castaneus_mature_female_9929s.jpg, Female ''P. castaneus''
File:Sparassidae Palystes castaneus mature female 9937s.jpg, Female ''P. castaneus''

References

External links

''Palystes'' (rain spiders, lizard-eating spiders)
on Iziko Museums' ''Biodivesity Explorer''

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3361720

Sparassidae
Araneomorphae genera
Spiders of Africa
Spiders of Asia
Spiders of Oceania