Dolophones spDolophones conifera Dolophones turrigera

Dolophones is a genus of orb-weaver spiders (family Araneidae, formerly Argiopidae).

They are an interesting looking genus of spiders, with the common name of Wrap-around Spiders. Their abdomen is concaved, curved in such a way that when the spider rests on a twig, it appears to have wrapped itself around the twig. Combined with their colour, they blend well against the bark. They are also known as Leopard Spiders because of the series of patterns on their abdomen resembling the pattern on a leopard.

Male Wrap-around Spider (Dolophones) - Project Maratus, Woy Woy NSW © Michael Doe
Male Wrap-around Spider (Dolophones), Woy Woy NSW © Michael Doe

These Warp-around Spiders build vertical orb web at night, and so their webs are rarely seen. The web is then removed, the spider recycles the silks before the night ends.

Wrap-around Spider (Dolophones) - Project Maratus, Central Coast NSW © Michael Doe
Wrap-around Spider (Dolophones), Central Coast NSW © Michael Doe
Turreted Wrap-around Spider (Dolophones turrigera), Woy Woy Bay NSW © Michael Doe
Turreted Wrap-around Spider (Dolophones turrigera), Woy Woy Bay NSW © Michael Doe
Wrap-around spider (Dolophones conifera), Narara NSW © Michael Doe
Wrap-around spider (Dolophones conifera), Narara NSW © Michael Doe
Turreted Wrap-around Spider (Dolophones turrigera), Woy Woy Bay NSW © Michael Doe
Turreted Wrap-around Spider (Dolophones turrigera), Woy Woy Bay NSW © Michael Doe

This section is under development, check back soon.

  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Chelicerata
  • Class: Arachnida
  • Order: Araneae
  • Infraorder: Araneomorphae
  • Family: Araneidae
  • Genus: Dolophones
  • Species:
    • Dolophones bituberculata Lamb, 1911
    • Dolophones clypeata (L. Koch, 1871)
    • Dolophones conifera (Keyserling, 1886)
    • Dolophones elfordi Dunn & Dunn, 1946
    • Dolophones intricata Rainbow, 1915
    • Dolophones macleayi (Bradley, 1876)
    • Dolophones mammeata (Keyserling, 1886)
    • Dolophones maxima Hogg, 1900
    • Dolophones nasalis (Butler, 1876)
    • Dolophones notacantha (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824)
    • Dolophones peltata (Keyserling, 1886)
    • Dolophones pilosa (Keyserling, 1886)
    • Dolophones simpla (Keyserling, 1886)
    • Dolophones testudinea (L. Koch, 1871)
    • Dolophones thomisoides Rainbow, 1915
    • Dolophones tuberculata (Keyserling, 1886)
    • Dolophones turrigera (L. Koch, 1867)

      there are 17 species in this genus (at time of writing)
Wrap-around Spider (Dolophones) - Project Maratus, Central Coast NSW © Michael Doe
Wrap-around Spider (Dolophones), Central Coast NSW © Michael Doe

Footnote & References

  1. Photographs (Project Maratus) © Michael Doe
  2. Michael Doe on Flickr – spiderphotography21 and michael doe (Project Maratus)
  3. Dolophones Walckenaer, 1837, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/f8cbf0cc-77dd-4bf9-b0b1-41a0f42f31ec
  4. Warp-around Spiders – genus Dolophones, Brisbane Insects and Spiders, https://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_orbweavers/Dolophones.htm
  5. Dolophones sp, Arachne.org.au, https://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=1781 (this site is no longer active. Some content can be viewed on Wayback Machine)
  6. Elusive ‘Wrap-Around Spiders’ Seamlessly Camouflage Into Their Surroundings, by Jessica Stewart, 26 June 2018, My Modern Met, https://mymodernmet.com/wrap-around-spiders-dolophones/

Dolophones spDolophones conifera Dolophones turrigera

SpidersIndex of Spider Images Spiders in Australia 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 Flower Spiders Hackled Orbweavers (Uloboridae) Jewel Spider Jumping Spider Long Jawed Spider (Tetragnatha sp) Lynx Spider (Oxyopes) Mangrovia albida Maratus volans Missulena occatoria (Red-headed Mouse Spider) Miturgidae Nicodamidae (Red and Black Spider) Ogre-faced Net-casting Spider Poltys sp (Twig Spider) Redback Spider Scorpion-tailed Spider (Arachnura higginsi) Thomisidae Tiger Spider (Trichonephila plumipes) White-spotted Swift Spider (Nyssus albopunctatus) Wolf Spider