Argiope protensa
species of arachnid
Argiope protensa, commonly known as the tailed grass spider or teardrop spider, is a species of spider in the orb weaver family, Araneidae. This species is fairly common and widespread in Australasia, but like many spider species, little is known of its ecology, biology, or life history.
Description
Argiope protensa is a slender, medium-sized spider, reaching a body length of 13 – 25 mm. Its abdomen is distinctively elongate, tapering to a long “tail” extending beyond the ventrally-positioned spinnerets — though immature and/or male specimens may not clearly show this characteristic. The dorsal abdomen has on each side a finely pubescent strip of short, silvery hairs, which become sparse closer to the apex. Four to six pairs of weakly indented spots border the variably-coloured, hairless medial line; similar hairless dark strips run along the sides of the abdomen. Ventrally, the abdomen is dark and sparsely-haired; two pale stripes run longitudinally down its entire length to the apex. The cephalothorax makes up about a quarter of the body length, and is covered in silvery-grey hairs on its dorsal surface. Colouration of the legs can vary between individuals; some are almost uniformly grey-brown, while others have strongly contrasting bands of dark and light colour along their lengths. In descending order, the relative leg lengths are 1, 2, 4, 3.
The public source identifies “Argiope protensa” as species of arachnid. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Argiope, protensa and species.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Dec 26, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1309229. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Argiope protensa” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.