Request spider ID - Thailand/Cambodia

[Global Orange 2000]

Does anybody know what kind of spider this is? It's web is built in the shape of a roof, with the spider sitting in the top all day. About 6 cm wide if in position like pictured below. The web is in a tree about 2 meters from the ground. Location is Koh Kood, a Thai island close to Cambodian border.

 

[Tarantula_Hawk]

Genus is Cyrtophora (Araneidae). There are numerous species in south-east asia though.

 

[Global Orange 2000]

Thanks Tarantula_Hawk

Do you know if it is venomous? I found 2 pages about orb-weavers on Wikipedia and on one of them (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_orb-web_spider) it is written that a bite can be painful although it won't happen fast. Would like to know because this one lives close to where I walk and move around etc.

 

[Tarantula_Hawk]

It is venomous as is the great majority of spiders (i.e. it posseses venom glands). However, it's harmless: the venom itself is bland, the risk of being bitten is extremely low (it remains on its web for its whole life) and the spider itself is very shy and avoids directly biting something unless it is forced to. The bite may hurt , just as any bee or wasp sting does. The bite also depends on a wide range of other variables: quantity of venom injected by the spider, individual reactions to the bite ecc.
Anyways, there's nothing you need to worry about. It's a fascinating spider that builds a beautiful web.

 

[Global Orange 2000]

Thanks a lot! It is indeed a fascinating spider, the web looks quite complex, in the shape of a tent.

 

[The Snark]

I've watched these kids trap prey. Their methods are reminiscent of pholcids but their web is much more sophisticated and the spider seems far more capable. As for bites, you would probably have more luck finding a latrodectus wandering your house taking random nips. If you manage to extricate them from their webs they desperately try to run and hide. Restrict their movement and they ultimately play dead. Serious 'leave me alone!' stuff.
Of interest, their webs share many of the characteristics of both therididae and orb weavers. They first make a series of guy lines roughly like a cobweb weave then intersperse orb web style.

 

[Global Orange 2000]

I've watched these kids trap prey. Their methods are reminiscent of pholcids but their web is much more sophisticated and the spider seems far more capable. As for bites, you would probably have more luck finding a latrodectus wandering your house taking random nips. If you manage to extricate them from their webs they desperately try to run and hide. Restrict their movement and they ultimately play dead. Serious 'leave me alone!' stuff.
Of interest, their webs share many of the characteristics of both therididae and orb weavers. They first make a series of guy lines roughly like a cobweb weave then intersperse orb web style.

Interesting!

 

[Ciphor]

I'd say their webs resemble species of Linyphiidae more then anything. They both use platforms (sheets) to catch falling or flying prey. Some build very detailed webs with thousands of strands of silk. Wish we had some tent spiders in the states. (besides Florida, you don't count, you have everything).

 

[The Snark]

Close but no cigar. From what I'm reading, these are considered orb weavers. From there ID gets a bit silly as in "easily identified by their color" yet they are extremely diverse in color and one even changes it's coloration.
Wow! I was right! "build large nonsticky webs of two parts – a tangle web and a finely-meshed horizontal orb web."

 

[Ciphor]

It is an orb weaver. But I was saying the web resembles a sheet web, not really a cobweb like cellar spiders. They use the same tactic as sheet web spiders as well, resting underneath the center of the sheet, waiting for prey to fall on the sheet and become entangled, allowing the spider to safely attack the prey from below.

The tangle webbing merely serves to support the sheet, while in the case of cobweb spiders the tangle web is the main function, which serves to notify the spider of preys location below. The main difference to consider here is the target prey. This orb weaver targets flying prey, while cobweb spiders target prowling prey.

 

[Global Orange 2000]

Sometimes I wish humans were as smart as spiders...