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

A good introduction: http://www.ento.csiro.au/education/allies/araneae.html

All about Australian spiders: http://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=2409

Spiders

Huntsman spiders (Sparassidae)

Jumping or peacock spiders (Salticidae)

Wolf spiders (Lycosidae)

Other hunting spiders

Orb-weaving spiders (several families)

Trapdoor, Funnelweb or Mouse spiders (Mygalomorphae)

Other web-building spiders

Water spiders (Pisauridae)

Moderators

YumiCallaway

NateKingsford

EmmaCollins

EathanDouglas

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Discussion

EmmaCollins wrote:

14 Jan 2025

It's definitely Hortophora sp. (what was named Eriophora previously).

Hortophora sp. (genus)

EathanDouglas wrote:

9 Oct 2024

very cool stuff, looks like these are likely calligaster, I've seen images of young calligasters huddled up next to their mother so I'd assume most of them would look like this :)

Neosparassus sp. (genus)

Aussiegall wrote:

5 Oct 2024

@NateKingsford thanks for the confirmation

Arbanitis sp. (genus)

NateKingsford wrote:

5 Oct 2024

A gorgeous male

Arbanitis sp. (genus)

Aussiegall wrote:

5 Oct 2024

@NateKingsford Thanks for the info, unfortunately, he was in a corner on the ceiling and I didn't want to annoy him to get him to move, I am not comfortable with the possibility of a large hairy black spider dropping down on me. :-) In the future, I will try to remember to get some other angles if possible.

Idiopidae (family)