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Mirror spider - side view, Andasibe, Madagascar My first mirror spider! (Genus: Thwaitesia. I only once saw these online from a famous macro photographer from Singapore. They are much smaller than I expected and quite tricky to get entirely into focus. <br /> <br /> They are called mirror spiders due to the reflective plates on their abdomen. This one surely is in the genus Thwaitesia. Some candidates known to occur in Madagascar:<br /> <br /> - Thwaitesia argenteosquamata (Lenz, 1891) (Madagascar)<br /> - Thwaitesia pulcherrima Butler, 1882 (Madagascar)<br /> <br /> Not certain of the species yet, documentation is very limited.<br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/86557/mirror_spider_-_front_andasibe_madagascar.html" title="Mirror spider - front, Andasibe, Madagascar"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2/86557_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1636588810&Signature=Dy95Li0sa2meA%2BLXPMqCbmxp8%2B0%3D" width="200" height="200" alt="Mirror spider - front, Andasibe, Madagascar My first mirror spider! (Genus: Thwaitesia. I only once saw these online from a famous macro photographer from Singapore. They are much smaller than I expected and quite tricky to get entirely into focus. <br /> <br /> They are called mirror spiders due to the reflective plates on their abdomen. This one surely is in the genus Thwaitesia. Some candidates known to occur in Madagascar:<br /> <br /> - Thwaitesia argenteosquamata (Lenz, 1891) (Madagascar)<br /> - Thwaitesia pulcherrima Butler, 1882 (Madagascar)<br /> <br /> Not certain of the species yet, documentation is very limited.<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/86558/mirror_spider_-_closeup_andasibe_madagascar.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/86559/mirror_spider_-_side_view_andasibe_madagascar.html Africa,Andasibe,Geotagged,Madagascar,Madagascar 2019,Winter,World" /></a></figure><br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/86558/mirror_spider_-_closeup_andasibe_madagascar.html" title="Mirror spider - closeup, Andasibe, Madagascar"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/2/86558_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1636588810&Signature=8JNeRItdBed4CSLuLTyUxye21ic%3D" width="116" height="152" alt="Mirror spider - closeup, Andasibe, Madagascar My first mirror spider! (Genus: Thwaitesia. I only once saw these online from a famous macro photographer from Singapore. They are much smaller than I expected and quite tricky to get entirely into focus. <br /> <br /> They are called mirror spiders due to the reflective plates on their abdomen. This one surely is in the genus Thwaitesia. Some candidates known to occur in Madagascar:<br /> <br /> - Thwaitesia argenteosquamata (Lenz, 1891) (Madagascar)<br /> - Thwaitesia pulcherrima Butler, 1882 (Madagascar)<br /> <br /> Not certain of the species yet, documentation is very limited.<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/86557/mirror_spider_-_front_andasibe_madagascar.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/86559/mirror_spider_-_side_view_andasibe_madagascar.html Africa,Andasibe,Christant Path,Geotagged,Madagascar,Madagascar 2019,Winter,World" /></a></figure> Africa,Andasibe,Geotagged,Madagascar,Madagascar 2019,Winter,World Click/tap to enlarge Promoted

Mirror spider - side view, Andasibe, Madagascar

My first mirror spider! (Genus: Thwaitesia. I only once saw these online from a famous macro photographer from Singapore. They are much smaller than I expected and quite tricky to get entirely into focus.

They are called mirror spiders due to the reflective plates on their abdomen. This one surely is in the genus Thwaitesia. Some candidates known to occur in Madagascar:

- Thwaitesia argenteosquamata (Lenz, 1891) (Madagascar)
- Thwaitesia pulcherrima Butler, 1882 (Madagascar)

Not certain of the species yet, documentation is very limited.

Mirror spider - front, Andasibe, Madagascar My first mirror spider! (Genus: Thwaitesia. I only once saw these online from a famous macro photographer from Singapore. They are much smaller than I expected and quite tricky to get entirely into focus. <br /> <br /> They are called mirror spiders due to the reflective plates on their abdomen. This one surely is in the genus Thwaitesia. Some candidates known to occur in Madagascar:<br /> <br /> - Thwaitesia argenteosquamata (Lenz, 1891) (Madagascar)<br /> - Thwaitesia pulcherrima Butler, 1882 (Madagascar)<br /> <br /> Not certain of the species yet, documentation is very limited.<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/86558/mirror_spider_-_closeup_andasibe_madagascar.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/86559/mirror_spider_-_side_view_andasibe_madagascar.html Africa,Andasibe,Geotagged,Madagascar,Madagascar 2019,Winter,World

Mirror spider - closeup, Andasibe, Madagascar My first mirror spider! (Genus: Thwaitesia. I only once saw these online from a famous macro photographer from Singapore. They are much smaller than I expected and quite tricky to get entirely into focus. <br /> <br /> They are called mirror spiders due to the reflective plates on their abdomen. This one surely is in the genus Thwaitesia. Some candidates known to occur in Madagascar:<br /> <br /> - Thwaitesia argenteosquamata (Lenz, 1891) (Madagascar)<br /> - Thwaitesia pulcherrima Butler, 1882 (Madagascar)<br /> <br /> Not certain of the species yet, documentation is very limited.<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/86557/mirror_spider_-_front_andasibe_madagascar.html<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/86559/mirror_spider_-_side_view_andasibe_madagascar.html Africa,Andasibe,Christant Path,Geotagged,Madagascar,Madagascar 2019,Winter,World

    comments (9)

  1. View Christine Young's profile
    Christine Young
    Lion
    View Lion class
    Yes! This is the one I was remembering from your travel blog. Love it! It's so amazing! Congrats :). Posted one year ago
    1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
      Ferdy Christant
      Lion
      View Lion class
      Thanks! Took me 30 mins to find anything as I thought they were called "jewel spiders". That was wrong. Then I tried "diamond spider", "triangle spider" and countless variations to just get one picture to look like this. So yeah, mirror spider :) Posted one year ago
      1. View Christine Young's profile
        Christine Young
        Lion
        View Lion class
        Well, it's a lovely mirror spider :) Posted one year ago
  3. View Patomarazul's profile
    Patomarazul
    Lion
    View Lion class
    A jewel! Posted one year ago
    1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
      Ferdy Christant
      Lion
      View Lion class
      Thanks :) Posted one year ago
  5. View Albert Kang's profile
    Albert Kang
    Lion
    View Lion class
    Happy for you that you found one in Madagascar.
    They are challenge to get good shots of. Did you try to get much closer shot or super macro to showcase the 'mirrored abdomen'?     Posted one year ago
    1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
      Ferdy Christant
      Lion
      View Lion class
      The current shot you see is as close as I could get and is already a crop :)
      Indeed hard to capture, and I was under time pressure.       Posted one year ago
  7. View Ruth Spigelman's profile
    Ruth Spigelman
    Lion
    View Lion class
    A very special genus of comb-footed spiders and I'm glad to see this here knowing you got to see one in the field. I have yet to find one of its Australian cousins...boo! Posted 10 months ago
    1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
      Ferdy Christant
      Lion
      View Lion class
      Best of luck, Ruth! I was shocked at how small they are, even for macro standards. Posted 10 months ago

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View Ferdy Christant's profile

By Ferdy Christant

All rights reserved
Uploaded Nov 15, 2019. Captured Jul 19, 2019 13:20 in Unnamed Road, Madagascar.
country flag of Madagascar Explore Madagascar 2,993 633 0
  • NIKON D850
  • f/13.0
  • 1/60s
  • ISO64
  • 105mm
View light conditions of this photo
Captured in the winter. More winter photos.

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