Arkys alatus (Winged Arkys)

ArkysArkys Image Index Arkys alatus (Winged Arkys) Arkys alticephala (High-headed Arkys) Arkys bulburinensis Arkys cornutus (Horned Triangular Spider) Arkys curtulus (Small Bird-dropping Spider) Arkys enigma Arkys lancearius (Triangular Spider) Arkys walckenaeri (Walckenaer’s Studded Triangular Spider)

Arkys alatus, commonly known as the Winged Arkys, is a small ambush hunter, found hiding on foliage, in a variety of habitats along the east coast, stretching from central Queensland to Victoria (there has been some observations in the Far North Queensland).

The name alataus is said to mean having wings or winged.

It is a striking looking spider, with a flattish appearance, ornate patterns and knobs, with overall colours of white, cream, dark-grey or brown overall colour. The cephalothorax (the fused head and thorax of a spider) is just slightly longer than wide. The lateral eyes of the Arkys alatus are on a projecting knob. The pattern on the abdomen has been described as resembling a ghoulish skull or a spectral dog’s head.

One of the identifying features of Arkys alatus is the front half of the abdomen is wide, quickly narrowing about half way back, like a parallel sided tail with projecting horns or hardened tubercles. The abdomen looks like a pair of outstretched wings with two small pairs of horns on the extremities and another two pairs on the trailing edge.

As an ambush hunter, Arkys alatus waits with arms folded for prey to come within range. Its prey are mostly insects, including ants. The eggsac of Arkys alatus is pale in coloured to white (the inner space of the egg sac case is filled with flocculent silk) which is suspended by a stalk underneath a leaf.

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Arkyidae
Genus: Arkys
Species: Arkys alatus

Footnote & References

Arkys alatus Keyserling, 1890, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/Arkys alatus
Winged Arkys (Arkys alatus), iNaturealistAU, https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/623479-Arkys-alatus
Arkys alatus Keyserling, 1890 Winged Arkys, Arachne.org.au, https://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=2147

SpidersIndex of Spider Images Spiders in Australia Spiders Index Araneidae — Orb Weavers Arkys Australian Huntsman Spider Barking Spider Black House Spider Carepalxis sp Celaenia sp Crab Spiders Deinopidae — Net-casting Spiders Dolomedes sp Dolophones sp Euryopis umbilicate (Superb Ant-eater Spider) Flower Spiders Gnaphosidae (Stealthy Ground Spider) Hackled Orbweavers (Uloboridae) Herennia sp Jewel Spider Jumping Spider Long Jawed Spider (Tetragnatha sp) Lynx Spider (Oxyopes) Mangrovia albida Maratus Missulena occatoria (Red-headed Mouse Spider) Miturgidae Molycria burwelli Mopsus mormon Nicodamidae (Red and Black Spider) Nyssus coloripes (Orange-legged Swift Spider) Ogre-faced Net-casting Spider Poltys sp (Twig Spider) Redback Spider Scorpion-tailed Spider (Arachnura higginsi) Tetragnatha Thomisidae Tiger Spider (Trichonephila plumipes) White-spotted Swift Spider (Nyssus albopunctatus) Wolf Spider