Gea (spider)

Gea is a genus of orb-weaver spiders first described by C. L. Koch in 1843.^[2]

Gea Temporal range: Neogene–present PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
female Gea spinipes Khao Yai National Park, Thailand
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Araneomorphae
Family:	Araneidae
Genus:	Gea C. L. Koch, 1843[1]
Type species
G. spinipes C. L. Koch, 1843
Species
13, see text

Distribution

Spiders of genus Gea are found from India to Australia, with four species in Africa. G. heptagon was introduced to North and South America.^[1]

Description

See also: Glossary of spider terms

The total length of spiders in this genus ranges from 4-6 mm in females and 3-4.5 mm in males.^[3]

Gea differs from Argiope in having evenly spaced anterior eyes, and it differs from most araneid genera by having a strongly procurved posterior eye row and a low thoracic region of the carapace.^[3]

Gea specimens are smaller than Argiope and possess larger posterior median eyes. In females, the eyes of the posterior eye row are almost equally spaced, whereas in Argiope, the median eyes are positioned closer to each other than to the lateral eyes.^[3]

The abdomen is shield-shaped with lobes on the sides, and the coloration of the abdomen is variable, potentially featuring transverse lines or a dark folium. Another distinguishing character that separates Gea from other genera is the modified first tibia of the male, which is curved and armed with macro-setae.^[3]

Ecology and behavior

According to Simon (1895), they do not make a stabilimentum, but it has been observed in webs of some webs.^[3]

Species

As of September 2025^[update], this genus includes thirteen species:^[1]

• Gea africana Simon, 1895 – DR Congo
• Gea argiopides Strand, 1911 – Indonesia (Aru Is.), Papua New Guinea
• Gea bituberculata (Thorell, 1881) – Indonesia (New Guinea)
• Gea eff Levi, 1983 – Papua New Guinea
• Gea heptagon (Hentz, 1850) – Pacific Islands, Australia. Introduced to United States, Argentina
• Gea infuscata Tullgren, 1910 – Sudan, Tanzania, Angola, Botswana, South Africa
• Gea jingdong Mi, Wang & Gan, 2024 – China
• Gea nilotica Simon, 1906 – Sudan
• Gea spinipes C. L. Koch, 1843 – Pakistan, India, Myanmar, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia (Sumatra, Borneo) (type species)
• Gea subarmata Thorell, 1890 – India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Japan (Ryukyu Is.), Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia (Borneo), Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, New Guinea)
• Gea theridioides (L. Koch, 1872) – Australia (Queensland, New South Wales)
• Gea transversovittata Tullgren, 1910 – Congo, Tanzania
• Gea zaragosa Barrion & Litsinger, 1995 – India, Philippines