Micrommata virescens

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Micrommata virescens

male M. virescens

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Family:	Sparassidae
Genus:	Micrommata
Species:	M. virescens

Binomial name

Micrommata virescens
(Clerck, 1757)

Synonyms

Aranea rosea
Aranea smaragdula
Aranea virescens
Aranea viridissima
Araneus roseus
Araneus virescens
Micrommata rosea
Micrommata roseum
Micrommata smaragdina
Micrommata viridissima
Sparassus smaragdulus
Sparassus roseus

The green huntsman spider (Micrommata virescens) is a spider of the family Sparassidae. It does not build a web, and hunts insects in green vegetation, where it is well camouflaged.

The green coloration is due to the bilin micromatabilin^[1] and its conjugates in hemolymph, interstitial tissues and the yolk of oocytes.^[2]

[edit] References

^ Micromatabilin, a new biliverdin conjugate in the spider, Micromata rosea [sic] (Sparassidae). Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology 98(2):189-191. doi:10.1007/BF00706130
^ Oxford, G.S. & Gillespie, R.G. (1998). Evolution and Ecology of Spider Coloration. Annual Review of Entomology 43: 619–643. doi:10.1146/annurev.ento.43.1.619.

[edit] Further reading

Bayram, A. & Özda, S. (2002). Micrommata virescens (Clerck, 1757), a New Species for the Spider Fauna of Turkey (Araneae, Sparassidae). Turk J Zool 26:305-307 PDF