Thwaitesia argentiopunctata

Thwaitesia argentiopunctata
spider in a leaf, Chatswood West, Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Family:	Theridiidae
Genus:	Thwaitesia
Species:	T. argentiopunctata
Binomial name
Thwaitesia argentiopunctata Rainbow 1916

Thwaitesia argentiopunctata known as the sequined spider, mirror spider, or twin-peaked Thwaitesia is a species of spider found in all the states of Australia. Body length is around 3 millimetres (0.12 in) for males, 4 mm (0.16 in) for females.^[1] The abdomen is attractively patterned with cream, green, yellow and red.

Description

These spiders, called mirror or sequined spiders, are all members of several different species of the thwaitesia genus, which features spiders with reflective silvery patches on their abdomen. The scales look like solid pieces of mirror glued to the spider’s back, but they can actually change size depending on how threatened the spider feels. The reflective scales are composed of reflective guanine, which these and other spiders use to give themselves color.^[2]

References