[3][6][7] Its abdomen is distinctively elongate, tapering to a long “tail” extending beyond the ventrally-positioned spinnerets — though immature and/or male specimens may not clearly show this characteristic.

[7] The dorsal abdomen has on each side a finely pubescent strip of short, silvery hairs, which become sparse closer to the apex.

[7] The tailed grass spider's web is variable, usually quite small (especially compared to those of other Argiope species), and may be constructed close to the ground[8] and oriented on a plane anywhere between vertical and horizontal.

[11] A 2014 study analysed changes in spider assemblage composition of Australian grasslands across a 900 km environmental gradient, and found a strong positive relationship between A. protensa and taller vegetation with high intra-tussock density.

[4] Taxonomic confusion continued until 1971, when Chrysanthus[20] confirmed that specimens collected from New Guinea matched Koch’s original description; in 1983 Levi agreed that similarities in genital morphology suggested many of the previously-described Australasian species were synonyms.