Genus of spiders
Damastes is a genus of East African huntsman spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1880. It is classified under the family Sparassidae, though its subfamilial classification remains unclear. The subspecies "Damastes coquereli affinis" is a nomen dubium.
Species.
As of  2019[ [update]] it contains sixteen species, found on the Seychelles, in Mozambique, and on Madagascar:
Trapping prey.
An unspecified "Damastes" species has been observed in the Sava Region of northeast Madagascar predating on vertebrates (frogs, "Heterixalus andrakata"). The same spider - and others of the same species - also build structures of leaves and silk and hide in the back of them. It is speculated that these are traps for catching these frogs.
References.
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