Do you have any cool facts about the australian christmas spider?
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TODAY'S FACT IS
Did you know that the Australian Christmas Spider (Austracantha minax) can be found all over mainland Australia and many of the surrounding islands? They can be easily identified by the six spines on its abdomen, measuring about 5mm each.
Not only are these spiders sexually dimorphic (the females are about twice as large as males and significantly more colourful), but the females also exhibit colour polymorphism, meaning they can come in a variety of patterns and colours. The colour morphs from later in autumn are often darker than those from warmer seasons.
These spiders are also unusual for how they build their webs. Unlike most other orb weavers, their webs are mostly permanent so they make the support strands visible to most larger animals. This is to help warn things that are too big that the web is there and to not destroy it.
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Photo by Ben Curry
