Thomisidae Stephanopis

Stephanopis sp. "Thorny"

Thorny Crab Spider

The Singapore species of this mainly Australian and Latin American genus of Stephanopis is superficially similar to Borboropactus and Cryptothele. All are well camouflaged on bark, leaf litter and dead plant material. Like them, the body is encrusted with soil particles and leaf-litter fragments. The legs and body carry numerous tiny warts, minute spines, and setae bearing microscopic Velcro-like hooks, all of which help to trap and hold the debris.

Stephanopis may be identified by a protruding cephalic area. robust and spiny legs I and II. and, most characteristically, long thorns projecting from the dorsal surfaces of the patellae and tibiae of legs I and II. Their genitalia and cheliceral teeth arrangement also differ significantly from those of Borboropactus and Cryptothele.

The colour of the Singapore species may vary. In both sexes, the dorsum is flattened, with upper posterior margin curving towards the front. The projections at the posterior lateral corners of the dorsum are studded with several narrow cones each bearing a club-shaped seta. Similar cones and setae are also be found on the lateral margins of the abdomen.