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| arthropods text index | photo index |
| Phylum Arthropoda > Class Arachnida |
| Marine
spider Desis martensi Family Desidae updated Feb 11 Where seen? This little spider is commonly seen on many of our shores: on rocky shores, coral rubble areas and reefs. It is more active at night. Features: Body to about 1cm. The spider has long furry legs. It is greyish sometimes with a pink tinge. At high tide, it hides in air pockets among crevices of submerged rocks. It emerges at low tide to hunt. It can 'walk' on water, scuttling rapidly over the water. Its hairy feet prevent it from breaking the water surface tension. What does it eat? These spiders have been seen with tiny crickets and little shrimps in their jaws. Status and threats: The Marine spider is listed as 'Vulnerable' on the Red List of threatened animals of Singapore. According to the Singapore Red Data Book: "The type specimen was collected at the reefs fringing Sentosa. Loss of the natural intertidal zone in reefs and rocky shores would threaten its survival." |
 Caught a shrimp almost as big as itself! Tuas, May 05  Caught a shrimp. Kusu Island, Jul 04 |
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 Caught a tiny shrimp. Sentosa, Mar 05 |
Marine spiders on Singapore shores
 Cyrene Reef, Oct 07 |
 'Walking' on water. |
 Stuck on anemone tentacles? Sisters Island, Aug 09 |
 Pulau Hantu, Nov 03  |
 St. John's Island, Aug 08  Caught a shore cricket? |
 Tanah Merah, Jun 09  |
more photos of marine spiders on Singapore shores
northern shores
southern shores part 1 | part 2 | part 3
| Family
Desidae recorded for Singapore from Wee Y.C. and Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity in Singapore in red are those listed among the threatened animals of Singapore from Davison, G.W. H. and P. K. L. Ng and Ho Hua Chew, 2008. The Singapore Red Data Book: Threatened plants and animals of Singapore.
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References
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The Nature Society (Singapore), Singapore. 343 pp.