Spiders

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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)

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Discussion

MichaelMulvaney wrote:

Yesterday

Stephanopis monulfi?

Stephanopis sp. (genus)

NateKingsford wrote:

4 Mar 2025

Definitely a spider egg sac. A female wasps would've used it's ovipositor to lay eggs inside the sac without interfering with the integrity with the structure, allowing the wasp eggs to hatch and eat the spider eggs

Tamopsis sp. (genus)

AlisonMilton wrote:

4 Mar 2025

@DiBickers Hi Di, I don't think this is a spider. I have collected and hatched these before and they were parasitic wasps.

Tamopsis sp. (genus)

HelenCross wrote:

4 Mar 2025

Great images!

Selenotypus sp.

NateKingsford wrote:

3 Mar 2025

You're too good @EathanDouglas