Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Gasteracantha cancriformis
araña de estrella, star spider, crab spider
This species can be found in the coastal Arid zone, most abundantly in Transition forests and in the Culture zone (e.g. gardens, orchards, plantations). It can sometimes be found at higher elevations (e.g. summit of Santa Cruz, 875 m and at ca. 800 m on Santiago and Volcán Alcedo).
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Arachnida
Order
Araneae
Superfamily
Araneoidea
Family
Araneidae
Genus
Gasteracantha
Species
cancriformis
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn:. Gasteracantha servillei fide Buchholz et al., 2020
Origin: Native
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Distribution: Nearctic and Neotropic. Daphne Major, Fernandina, Floreana, Genovesa, Isabela (Volcán Beagle, Volcán Cerra Azul, Volcán Sierra Negra, Volcán Alcedo, Volcán Darwin, Volcán Wolf), Pinta, Rábida, Santiago, San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz
- Baert, L.L. Malfait, J.-P., Hendrickx, F. & Desender, K. (2008) Distribution and Habitat Preference of the Spiders (Araneae) of Galápagos. Bull. Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg. Entomol. 78: 39-111.
- Baert, L.L. Maelfait, J.-P. & Desender, K. (1989) Results of the Belgian 1986-expedition: Araneae, and Provisional Checklist of the Spiders of the Galápagos Archipelago. Bull. Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg. Entomol. 58: 29-54.
- Baert, L.L. Maelfait, J.-P. (1986) A Contributution to the Knowledge of the Spider Fauna of Galápagos (Ecuador). Bull. Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg. Entomol. 56: 93-123.
- Baert, L.L. Maelfait, J.-P. (2000) Check List of the Described Spider Species of the Galápagos Archipelago (Araneae). Bull. Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg. Entomol. 70: 243-245.
- Baert, L.L. Maelfait, J.P. & Desender, K. (1989) Results of the Belgian 1988-expedition to the Galápagos Islands: Araneae. Bull. Inst. R. Sci. Nat. Belg. Entomol. 59: 5-22.
- Buchholz, S. Baert, L., Rodríguez, J., E Causton, C., & Jäger, H. (2020) Spiders in Galapagos–diversity, biogeography and origin. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 130(1), 41-48.
- Baert, L. Jean-Pierre Maelfait, Konjev Desender, Frederik Hendrickx (2023) Updated checklist, origin, distribution, literature and genital drawings of the spiders of the Galápagos Islands Belgian Journal of Entomology 142: 1–188.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Gasteracantha cancriformis", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=11901. Accessed 6 July 2025.