Queen of the Huntsmen

Pediana regina is a relatively large huntsman, with adult females exhibiting a leg span of 25 mm (0.98 in) and adult males exhibiting a leg span of 19 mm (0.75 in). Covered in filiform hairs or trichobothria, P. regina are typically a dull tan or brownish grey in colour with a deeper brown or tawny shade that bands or freckles the legs and sporadically marks the rest of the body. A dark stripe (sometimes referred to as a cardiac mark among spiders) runs laterally down the spider's dorsum, ceasing at the slope of the forehead and eyes. The abdomen is bulbous and oval-shaped and the prosoma is broad, tapering gently towards the front of the face and chelicerae. The legs do not curve forward as extremely as other huntsmen species and the two foremost legs are marginally longer than the other legs, a characteristic feature of the Deleninae subfamily the species belongs to, and the closely related Heteropodinae subfamily.

Morphological differences from other Deleninae. Pediana and P. regina can be easily distinguished from other huntsmen genera, chiefly Isopedella and Holconia, by morphological differences. Pediana males lack sclerotised conductor bases, delenine tegular apophysis, and a tegular flange, while Pediana females lack epigynal sclerite (though they still possess an epigyne). …

Pediana regina can be found hiding under loose bark in eucalyptus forests, favouring the bark at the bases of trees or old stumps and logs. P. regina will also nest under bark. They can oftentimes be found perched on trees, stumps, and logs, using their colouration to camouflage as they hunt. As all huntsmen spiders, P. regina hunts for food rather than building webs to catch prey. They are known to hunt and eat bark-dwelling insects and other smaller spider species. The species is the sole member of Deleninae to be diurnal, hunting during the day. The diurnal lifestyle of the species may owe to its similarly unique possession of a procurved posterior eye row, absent in other Delenine huntsmen.