Taxon:
- Class: Arachnida
- Order: Araneae
- Infra-Order: Araneamorph (true spiders)
- Family: Scytodidae
- Genus: Scytodes
- Species: S. leipoldti
Female
Around 5mm in body length. Leg span of approximately 8mm diagonally.
Cephalothorax:
Cephalothorax raised and humped, curving down anteriorly and sharply posteriorly, brownish cream with two dark markings down carapace and thin dark line on edges. Sternum plain and greyish brown. Pedipalps light cream, unmodified, and banded.
Abdomen:
Abdomen round, as high as peak of carapace, brown with 2 rows dark spots down centre to spinnerets and rows of dark spots down sides dorsally. Ventral abdomen plain and yellowish with two dark spots near spinnerets.
Legs:
Light brown legs covered with thin dark bands down all segments save for metatarsus and tarsus. 1, 2, 4, 3.
Male
Unknown.
ABOUT THE GENUS
Spitting spiders are among the most fascinating of spiders, iconic for their huge cephalothorax that sports a noticeable dome. They are unique in that they have silk glands in their abdomen near the spinnerets as well as within the cephalic region! They use this extra silk in hunting by lacing it with venom and spitting it from their fangs onto their prey at such a speed that the prey is near-instantly wrapped.
Like Pisaurids and Pholcids, spitting spiders carry their egg sacs between their chelicera, foregoing all food and water until the slings emerge from the sac. These small spiders are masters of hiding, with tiger-stripe camouflage patterns on both their carapace and abdomen that masks their presence in foliage and debris. The patterns are also unique to each species, making it somewhat easier to identify to species level using these markings.
Spiders in & around Orania 