Crab spider facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Crab spiders |
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| Camouflaged crab spider on a violet flower | |
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Thomisidae
Sundevall, 1833
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| Diversity | |
| 170 genera, > 2,000 species | |
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Crab spiders are the Thomisidae family of spiders. They have two front pairs of legs angled outward and bodies that are flattened and often angular. Also, like crabs, Thomisidae can move sideways or backward.
Crab spiders use their powerful front legs to grab and hold onto prey while paralyzing it with a venomous bite.
Crab spiders are hunters and ambushers. Some species sit on or among flowers, bark, fruit or leaves where they grab visiting insects. Their species use camouflage: several different types are known.
Some species are disguised as birds' droppings resting on a leaf. Even at a close range, it is difficult to tell the difference. Crab spiders live in rainforests all over the world. They get their name from the way they scuttle around, like small crabs.
Images for kids
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Crab spider feeding on a Junonia atlites butterfly in a Zinnia elegans flower
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Crab spider waiting in ambush, Behbahan, Iran
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Misumena vatia female
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Angaeus sp., Karnataka, India
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Ant-mimic Amyciaea sp., Karnataka, India
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Phyrnarachne sp. mimicking bird-dropping, Karnataka, India
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Camaricus sp., Goa, India
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Runcinia sp., Goa, India
See also
In Spanish: Arañas cangrejo para niños
