The Thomisidae are a family of spiders, including about 170 genera and over 2,100 species. The common name crab spider is often linked to species in this family, but is also applied loosely to many other families of spiders. Many members of this family are also known as flower spiders or flower crab spiders.
Wolf spiders are members of the family Lycosidae. They are robust and agile hunters with excellent eyesight. They live mostly in solitude, hunt alone, and usually do not spin webs. Some are opportunistic hunters, pouncing upon prey as they find it or chasing it over short distances; others wait for passing prey in or near the mouth of a burrow.
Huntsman spiders, members of the family Sparassidae, are known by this name because of their speed and mode of hunting. They are also called giant crab spiders because of their size and appearance. Larger species sometimes are referred to as wood spiders, because of their preference for woody places. In southern Africa the genus Palystes are known as rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders. Commonly, they are confused with baboon spiders from the Mygalomorphae infraorder, which are not closely related.
The Agelenidae are a large family of spiders in the suborder Araneomorphae. Well-known examples include the common "grass spiders" of the genus Agelenopsis. Nearly all Agelenidae are harmless to humans, but the bite of the hobo spider may be medically significant, and some evidence suggests it might cause necrotic lesions, but the matter remains subject to debate. The most widely accepted common name for members of the family is funnel weaver.
Austracantha is a genus of spider with a single species, Austracantha minax, commonly known as the jewel spider or the Christmas spider. It is a member of the family Araneidae and is endemic to Australia. They are relatively small spiders, reaching a maximum total body length of only around 12 mm (0.47 in) for females, and 5 mm (0.20 in) for males. Their abdomen has six distinctive projections ("spines") that makes them easy to identify. They are predominantly a shiny black, with variable white, yellow, and orange patterns. Melanistic forms also occur during autumn. They are facultatively gregarious, and can be found in large aggregations of overlapping orb webs. They feed on small flying insects that get entangled in their webs. They are harmless to humans, though the webs can be a nuisance for bushwalkers. They are most abundant during the summer months.
Dolomedes is a genus of large spiders of the family Pisauridae. They are also known as fishing spiders, raft spiders, dock spiders or wharf spiders. Almost all Dolomedes species are semiaquatic, with the exception of the tree-dwelling D. albineus of the southeastern United States. Many species have a striking pale stripe down each side of the body.
White-tailed spiders are spiders native to southern and eastern Australia, and so named because of the whitish tips at the end of their abdomens. The body size is up to 18 mm, with a leg-span of 28 mm. Common species are Lampona cylindrata and Lampona murina. Both these species have been introduced into New Zealand.
The black house spider or common black spider is a common species of cribellate Australian spider, introduced to New Zealand and Japan. A closely related species, Badumna longinqua, the grey house spider, has a similar distribution, but has also been introduced to the Americas.
Phidippus audax, the bold jumper or bold jumping spider, is a common species of spider belonging to the genus Phidippus, a group of jumping spiders easily identified by their large eyes and their iridescent chelicerae. Like all jumping spiders, they have excellent stereoscopic vision that aids them in stalking prey and facilitates visual communication with potential mates during courting. Bold jumping spiders are native to North America and have been introduced to Hawaii, Nicobar Islands, Azores, and the Netherlands. They are typically black with a distinct white triangle on their abdomen.
Helpis is a genus of the spider family Salticidae.
Jotus is a spider genus of the family Salticidae, native to Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia. There are thought to be many as yet undescribed species in southern Australia.
Evarcha culicivora is a species of jumping spider found only around Lake Victoria in Kenya and Uganda. At maturity, E. culicivora spiders have an average size of 5 mm for both males and females. The range in size for either sex is quite small, with females being only slightly larger on average.
Asianopis subrufa is a species of net-casting spiders. It occurs in Australia and in New Zealand. It is a nocturnal hunter, having excellent eyesight, and hunts using a silken net to capture its prey. They feed on a variety of insects – ants, beetles, crickets and other spiders. They can vary in colour from fawn to pinkish brown or chocolate brown. Females are about 25 mm in body length, males about 22 mm. They are not dangerous to humans.
Arachnura, also known as drag-tailed spider, scorpion-tailed spider and scorpion spider, is a genus of orb-weaver spiders that was first described by A. Vinson in 1863. They are distributed across Australasia, Southern and Eastern Asia with one species from Africa. Females can grow up to 1 to 3 centimetres long, while males reach only 2 millimetres (0.079 in) long. The name is a combination of the Ancient Greek "arachne-" (ἀράχνη) and "uro" (οὐρά), meaning "tail". The tails are only present on females, but unlike the common names suggests, these spiders aren't related to scorpions. They curl up their tails when disturbed, but they are completely harmless. Bites are rare, and result in minor symptoms such as local pain and swelling. They stay at the middle of their web day and night, and their bodies mimic plant litter, such as fallen flowers, twigs, or dead leaves.
Pholcus phalangioides, commonly known as the cosmopolitan cellar spider, long-bodied cellar spider or one of various types called a daddy long-legs spider, is a spider of the family Pholcidae. It is also known as the skull spider, since its cephalothorax is said to resemble a human skull. This is the only spider species described by the Swiss entomologist Johann Kaspar Füssli, who first recorded it in 1775. Its common name of "daddy long-legs" should not be confused with a different arachnid group with the same common name, the harvestman (Opiliones), or the crane flies of the superfamily Tipuloidea.
Palystes is a genus of huntsman spiders, commonly called rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders, occurring in Africa, India, Australia, and the Pacific. The most common and widespread species is P. superciliosus, found in South Africa, home to 12 species in the genus. The name Palystes is derived from either the Latin palaestes or the Greek palaistes, meaning "wrestler". The genus was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1875.
Abracadabrella elegans is a species of jumping spider in the genus Abracadabrella. Its common name is Elegant Fly Mimic. It is common in coastal Eastern Australia, mostly Queensland. It appears to mimic a large fly with two black raised, rounded mounds on the rear of the abdomen, which look like eyes, and its spinnerets which resemble a fly's mouthparts. It walks backwards apparently to enhance the mimicry. Abracadabrella spp. are found on or under bark or on foliage from coastal north Queensland south to at least the central coast NSW.
Badumna longinqua or the grey house spider is a species of spiders in the family Desidae. Native to eastern Australia, it has been introduced into New Zealand, Japan, the United States, Mexico, and Uruguay.
Cosmophasis micarioides is a species of jumping spider found in Papua New Guinea, Australia and the Solomon Islands. The common name is sparkling northern jumping spider. When in motion, the male spider bobs its abdomen up and down reflecting sunlight that causes a characteristic sparkle.
Maratus griseus, the white-banded house jumping spider, is a species of jumping spider in the family Salticidae. It is found in Australia and New Zealand.
