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Cymbacha saucia L. Koch, 1874 Black Crab Spider

The female body length 7 mm, male 4 mm, usually found in a retreat formed from a folded leaf, distinctive markings. The upper legs have clear sections often very noticeable if the rest of the legs and body are darkly coloured. Quite common but rarely noticed. An ambush predator whose patterns are for camouflage. Rainbow remarked in the Proceedings of the Linnaean Society of New South Wales in 1986 that "The colouration and ornamentation of the genus Cymbacha are also [as well as Stephanopis] protective. These spiders also have laterigrade ambulatory limbs. They are found in similar localities to the Stephanopis. C. festiva and C. saucia are found both in Queensland and New South Wales, and each has been found in the vicinity of Sydney."

Female


Cymbacha ocellata
Photo Robert Whyte

Another female


Cymbacha saucia
Photo: Robert Whyte

Pale faced female


Cymbacha
Photo Robert Whyte

Black faced female


Cymbacha saucia
Photo: Robert Whyte

Brown faced female


Cymbacha saucia
Photo: Robert Whyte

Elderly but pretty female with parasitic mites


Owen Seeman, Curator of Arachnids at Queensland Museum writes: They're definitely mites and in the Mesostigmata. They're also not the usual Uropodina that are often phoretic on terrestrial invertebrates, which make them particularly interesting. I'd take a first guess at Laelapidae, which means they could be parasites. Second guess might be wandering Phytoseiidae, but that's pretty weird.

Cymbacha
Photo: Robert Whyte

Sub adult with strong cephalothorax markings


Cymbacha ocellata
Photo: Robert Whyte

Juvenile


Cymbacha ocellata
Photo: Robert Whyte

Female adult from above 060510


Cymbacha saucia
Photo: Robert Whyte

Female adult from below 060510


Cymbacha saucia
Photo: Robert Whyte

 

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