Merry Crab Spider
The genus Henriksenia is defined mainly by male palp structures and the presence of an abdominal scutum in males. The abdomen is relatively short: only 1.5 times longer than the cephalothorax, ovate to pentagonal in shape. It is covered by numerous minute pimples and the sides are pleated. The species name "hilaris", which means "show" or "decorated", probably refers to the bold rusty-brown side bands on the abdomen of some individuals, but the body colouration varies vastly within the species, as shown in the pictures next page.
| Length | ♀ 4–5 mm; ♂ 2 mm. |
| Habitat | Flower heads of grasses and weeds. |
| Biology | They build a silken retreat on a rolled leaf. They feed on insects attracted to flowers, especially honeybees. Their prey also include grasshoppers and other insects many times larger than themselves. Females, when disturbed, move quickly, dropping down into the undergrowth. |
| Type Locality | Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. |
| Distribution | Brunei, India, Indonesia (South East Sulawesi), Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia), Philippines, Singapore, Thailand. |
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Chelicerata (Chelicerates)
Class Arachnida (Arachnids)
Order Araneae (Spiders)
Suborder Araneomorphae (Typical Spiders)
Holotype
Senckenberg Museum, Frankfurt am Main (SMF), Germany (data base search of type material, 11.01.2019); Synema seranicum Strand, 1913, 1 ♀ (4372-128)
Syntype(s)
Naturhistorisches Museum, Basel (NMB), Switzerland (database search of type material, 08.04.2019); Misumenops bühleri Schenkel, 1944, 1 ♂ 1 Juvenile (NMB-ARAN-01230 a)
Misumena hilaris (Original description ♀; probably senior Synonym of Ebrechtella pseudovatia, per Benjamin & Ranasinghe, 2025: 8)
Misumena braminica (Original description ♀)
Synema seranicum (Original description ♀)
Strand, 1913d Neue indoaustralische und polynesische Spinnen des Senckenbergischen Museums: 118
Synema seranicum (♀)
Strand, 1915d Indoaustralische, papuanische und polynesische Spinnen des Senckenbergischen Museums, gesammelt von Dr E: 238, pl. 18, f. 87
Misumenops bühleri (Original description ♂♀)
Schenkel, 1944 Arachnoidea aus Timor und China aus den Sammlungen des Basler Museums: 190, f. 9 doi:10.5962/bhl.part.117872
Diaea hilaris
Roewer, 1955c Katalog der Araneae von 1758 bis 1940, bzw. 1954. 2. Band, Abt. a (Lycosaeformia, Dionycha [excl. Salticiformia]). 2. Band, Abt. b (Salticiformia, Cribellata) (Synonyma-Verzeichnis, Gesamtindex): 868
Misumenoides shulli (Original description ♀)
Tikader, 1965a On some new species of spiders of the family Thomisidae from India: 280, f. 4a-b
Diaea jaintious (Original description ♀)
Tikader, 1966g Studies on some crab-spider (family: Thomisidae) from Khasi and Jaintia hills, Assam, India: 59, f. 5a-b
Diaea jaintious (♀)
Tikader, 1968b Studies on spider fauna of Khasi and Jaintia hills, Assam, India: 108, f. 4-5
Misumenoides shulli (♀)
Tikader, 1971a Revision of Indian crab spiders (Araneae: Thomisidae): 59, f. 16R-S
Misumenoides shulli (♀)
Tikader, 1980a Thomisidae (Crab-spiders): 154, f. 218-219
Misumenoides pabilogus (Original description ♀)
Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 Riceland spiders of South and Southeast Asia: 242, f. 141a-c
Henriksenia hilaris (mf from Diaea, Synonym of Diaea jaintious, Misumena braminica, M. decorata, Misumenoides deccanes, M. matinikus, M. pabilogus, M. shulli, Misumenops buehleri and Synema seranicum)
Lehtinen, 2004 Taxonomic notes on the Misumenini (Araneae: Thomisidae: Thomisinae), primarily from the Palaearctic and Oriental regions: 166, f. 33, 52
Misumenoides deccanes (♀)
Biswas, 2021 A newly recorded crab-spider genus Misumenoides F: 78, f. 1a-f, 2 doi:10.3329/jbcbm.v6i1.51376
Brunei, India, Indonesia (South East Sulawesi), Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia), Philippines, Singapore, Thailand.