Thelacantha Hasselt, 1882

Macharoenboon, Kongkit, Siriwut, Warut & Jeratthitikul, Ekgachai, 2021, A review of the taxonomy of spiny-backed orb-weaving spiders of the subfamily Gasteracanthinae (Araneae, Araneidae) in Thailand, ZooKeys 1032, pp. 17-62 : 17

Genus Thelacantha Hasselt, 1882

Type species.

Plectana brevispina Doleschall, 1857.

Diagnosis.

Cephalic region highly elevated in middle, abruptly sloping downward posteriorly. Median ocular quadrangle wider behind than in front. Cephalothorax overlapping abdomen. Sternum heart-shaped, pointed posteriorly, and concave anteriorly below labium. Abdomen octagonal, with sigilla on dorsal and ventral sides. Three pairs of abdominal spines, tubercle, with a small protuberance at the tip. Dorsal sigilla in three rows, situated near the anterior edge, posterior edge, and behind the posterior edge. Four median sigilla arranged in a trapezoid. Ventral tubercle is present. Spinnerets encircled by black sclerotized rings.

Remarks.

Thelacantha was a subgenus of Gasteracantha , but later proposed to be a genus ( Benoit 1964; Emerit 1974), which is now monotypic ( World Spider Catalog 2020).