Spiders


Tips for submitting spider sightings: 

Photos from various angles are sometimes necessary for specific ID.

  • front (eye arrangement, pedipalp colour)
  • dorsal (above - general colouration, carapace and abdomen patterns)
  • ventral (underneath - especially useful for some of the ground-dwelling families and orb-weaving families)
  • side (further details for general shape, abdomen patterns and eye configuration)
  • back (further details for abdomen pattern).

Comments or photos on the following also provides valuable information if/when such features are applicable and observed...

  • surroundings and location (eg. ground, leaf litter, hand rail, tree trunk)
  • web structure and silk use (eg. orb, messy & tangled, throwing silk)
  • breeding (eg. display, egg sac)
  • behaviour (eg. hunting, interaction, familiarity with people such as the threatening display of a huntsman or the friendly and curious jumping spiders that jump onto the camera lens)
  • notable, unique, exciting or strange observations (eg. spur-like protrusions from legs, camouflage, mimicry)

Please note that the size of the spider is measured by body length.

  • body size is from the top of the cephalothorax (head) to the tip of the abdomen without including the legs.

(Updated: October, 2022. Please feel free to message a spider moderator if you have any queries or suggestions for improvement)

Resources

  • Field guide: A Field Guide to Spiders of Australia authored by Robert Whyte & Greg Anderson

Announcements

28 Apr 2025

The team are working hard on a number of important improvements to the historic data import tool, to allow you to more easily bring across your historic records into NatureMapr.Thanks to support from ...


Continue reading

NatureMapr welcomes Edgar McNamara

Platform wide attribute changes

New Feature: Moderator Quick Responses!

New priority species lists in the ACT

Discussion

NateKingsford wrote:
30 Apr 2025
Thanks @WendyEM

Austracantha minax
Mike wrote:
30 Apr 2025
Nothing hatched.

Austracantha minax
AlisonPignon wrote:
30 Apr 2025
Thanks, that's super interesting!

Missulena sp. (genus)
NateKingsford wrote:
28 Apr 2025
The easiest way to tell Missulena and Atracidae apart is the eye arrangement. Missulena eyes will be spread across the caput region of the cephalothorax (top of the head area next to the chalicerae), while Atracid eyes will be tightly grouped together. Missulena have a more stocky appearance compared to Atracids and they have much more chonkier looking Chalicerae (the large appendage at the front of the head where the fangs attach to the body).

I'd be happy to help if you have any further questions

Missulena sp. (genus)
AlisonPignon wrote:
28 Apr 2025
Thanks Nate. He was lying on a mat doing stretches, hence it was able to crawl on him. Out of interest, how do you distinguish it from a funnel web?

Missulena sp. (genus)
814,818 sightings of 22,168 species from 13,931 members
CCA 3.0 | privacy
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land and acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present.