Sparassidae Heteropoda

Heteropoda christae Jäger, 2008

Christa’s Huntsman

The species was named in honour of the Dutch arachnologist Dr Christa Deeleman-Reinhold for her distinguished contribution to arachnology, including the publication of Forest Spiders of South East Asia in 2001, an indispensable reference aid to any arachnologist working on spiders of the region.

The female of H. christae is recognised in the field by a combination of characters: the overall brownish colouration, bicoloured chelicerae (with black colouration on the distal parts near the fangs), numerous long curly hairs over the body and legs, stiff but short bristles on the carapace and abdomen, and a tuft of 4–6 longer erect white bristles at the posterior half of the abdomen. On the underside, the mouthparts and sternum (chest plate) are darkly coloured. A broad dark median band runs longitudinally on the venter (underside of the abdomen).

The female is variable in its external appearance. In some individuals, the posterior end of the abdomen is marked by a triangular patch of short white hairs, pointing at the spinnerets. Certain females show a distinctly dark longitudinal stripe running from the ocular region to almost the posterior end of the abdomen, with two pairs of dark lateral spots adjacent to the abdominal mid-line. In other individuals. such a dark stripe is hardly discernible (though present) on the carapace, and is absent on the abdomen. Some individuals have markings like tiger stripes on the femora while others do not. The sternum and mouthparts of some females are less darkly coloured than others.

The species is similar to Heteropoda sp. J.