Lichen huntsman spider

Description

Pandercetes gracilis, also called the lichen huntsman spider and the lichen spider, is a huntsman spider found on New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, Sulawesi, and in Queensland, Australia. Individuals can vary in color and many color forms exist, but unlike squids and certain reptiles, color is fixed at its previous molt. It hunts by hiding among moss and lichen, then ambushing prey that comes into range by pouncing on it. Pandercetes is a genus of huntsman spiders that was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in his 1875 treatise on Australian spiders. They are mainly distributed in tropical Asia and Australia, and are known for their cryptic coloration that matches local moss and lichen. Their legs have lateral hairs, giving them a feathery appearance, further masking their outline against tree trunks. Their head is somewhat elevated and the carapace has the thoracic region low and flat. The genus is characterized by the internal anatomy of the reproductive structures. Males have irregular coils at the terminal end, while females have screw like copulatory ducts.