Alright, I will admit - this is a creepy looking spider. This is the first time I've seen a spider like this, but it really is an interesting one. I've never seen a spider sit in this posture with its back legs bent in such a way.

As you should have surmised by now, it is a Tmarus angulatus (sorry, there isn't a common name for this one), and it is in the crab spider family. Apparently these tend to rest on branches of plants and trees (instead of flowers like some crab spiders) and use the shape of the abdomen to look like a new bud growing out of the branch. Then they pounce on their prey with lighting quick speed, holding on to them with those long front legs.

It is amazing just how many types of spiders there are, and how they've adapted to so many niche environments.

Creepy or not, they are really fascinating.

- Bill