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.
Leucorchestris arenicola, commonly called the dancing white lady spider, is a huntsman spider in the family Sparassidae and genus Leucorchestris. It is commonly found in the Namib desert of Namibia. It is often mistaken with the similarly named Carparachne aureoflava, or more commonly known as the wheel spider from the same location. L. arenicola relies on seismic vibrations, called drumming, for communication. It taps its foremost legs on the sand to send messages to other white lady spiders. Male L. arenicola will travel over 50 m in one night searching for a mate. If they find a mate, they must be extremely careful, for drumming the wrong message can be deadly. One of the major features that characterizes its nocturnal behavior is its specialized vision, using eight eyes in different orientations to capture a panoramic view of the surroundings. L. arenicola spiders use temporal summation in order to be able to see dim lighting during night-time wanderings. The species was first described by Reginald Frederick Lawrence in 1962, who described all the species in the genus Leucorchestris.
Uloborus walckenaerius, also known as the feather-legged spider, is a cribellate spider in the family Uloboridae. Like all spiders in this family, they do not have venom glands and immobilize their prey with over 140 metres of thread. They are named in honor of Charles Athanase Walckenaer.
Phidippus californicus is a species of jumping spider. It is found in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
Poecilotheria is a genus of tarantulas native to India and Sri Lanka. It was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1885. They are arboreal tarantulas, commonly known as ornamental tarantulas, known for their vivid color patterns, fast movement, and potent venom compared to other tarantulas. As of 2019 all species are protected under CITES.
Heteropoda davidbowie is a species of huntsman spider of the genus Heteropoda. It was described from the Cameron Highlands District in peninsular Malaysia and named in honour of singer David Bowie.
Rugathodes sexpunctatus is a minute species of spider in the family Theridiidae, the cobweb or tangle-web spiders. This family includes the medically important genus Latrodectus—the widow spiders. The species in the genus Rugathodes are too small to be dangerous to humans. Very little is known about most species in this genus.
Attulus inexpectus is a species of spider from family Salticidae, found in from Europe to central Asia. It was previously misidentified as Attulus rupicola.
Olios is the largest genus of huntsman spiders, containing 166 species. They are found throughout the world, with most species occurring in hot countries. The genus was first described by Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1837.
Oregonia bifurca, commonly known as the split-nose crab or the split-nose decorator crab, is a species of crabs belonging to the family Oregoniidae. It is a rare deep-water species that inhabits the tops of seamounts and guyots in the northeastern Pacific Ocean; from the Aleutian Islands, the Bering Sea, the Hawaiian–Emperor seamount chain, to the waters off British Columbia. It is closely related to the more common shallow-water species Oregonia gracilis, the graceful decorator crab.
Reddyanus problematicus, previously known as Isometrus problematicus, is a species of scorpion in the family Buthidae. Found in India, the species exhibits distinct characteristics. In females, the total body length measures approximately 22 millimeters (mm). The pedipalps, legs, and segments of the metasoma display a coloration ranging from yellow to reddish-brown, accentuated by black spots.
Progradungula otwayensis, commonly known as the odd-clawed spider, is a species of cribellate spider endemic to the Great Otway National Park of Victoria, Australia. It is one of only two species in the gradungulid genus Progradungula.
Hyptiotes paradoxus, also known as the triangle spider, is a cribellate orbweaver in the family Uloboridae.
Tigrosa helluo is a species of spider belonging to the family Lycosidae, also known as wolf spiders. T. helluo was formerly known as Hogna helluo before differences between dorsal color patterns, habitat preferences, body structures, etc. were discovered. The species is native to the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It can be found across the eastern half of the United States, primarily in the Northeast and New England, and as far west as Nebraska and Kansas. T. helluo can be found in diverse habitats including woods, marshes, fields, and riparian areas. Typically, members of this species prefer to live in wetter areas as opposed to dry environments. Males tend to live for around a year and females will live for close to two years.
Pandercetes is a genus of huntsman spiders that was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in his 1875 treatise on Australian spiders. They are mainly distributed in tropical Asia and Australia, and are known for their cryptic coloration that matches local moss and lichen. Their legs have lateral hairs, giving them a feathery appearance, further masking their outline against tree trunks. Their head is somewhat elevated and the carapace has the thoracic region low and flat.
Tetragnatha versicolor is a species of long-jawed orb weaver in the spider family Tetragnathidae. It is found throughout North America, Canada, Central America, and Cuba, but are most common in the United States. T. versicolor is heavily concentrated in New England and the west coast in states like California and Washington. T. versicolor is considered a habitat generalist, and can thrive in many different environments. While they can be found in places like Grasslands, Wetlands, Forests, etc., they prefer dryer areas like normal trees and shrubs. Unlike other spiders in the genus Tetragnatha, T. versicolor will rarely reside near aquatic environments. T. versicolor will typically be colored dark yellow or pale orange and average around 5 mm for males and 6.5 mm for females in length, which is very small for a spider. They are much longer than they are wide, making them very distinct. In addition, T. versicolor can be distinguished from other spiders in Tetragnatha by the distinct separation of the anterior/posterior eyes and the appearance of their reproductive organs. As an orb weaver spider, T. versicolor creates a web to hunt for prey. It will wait at night for prey to stumble into its web and use vibrational signals throughout the web to sense trapped prey. In terms of mating behavior, T. versicolor lacks a distinct courting ritual and will mate with any others in the proximity. Mating behavior is heavily affected by female mating history. In terms of interactions with humans, the bite of T. versicolor is venomous, but not known to cause significant harm.
Zephyrarchaea marki, the Cape Le Grand assassin spider, is a species of spider in the family Archaeidae, commonly known as the assassin spiders. Known only from Cape Le Grand National Park in Western Australia, the species was first described by Michael G. Rix and Mark Harvey in 2012. It is named after Mark Wojcieszek, who helped collect the initial specimens of this species. Z. marki is a small species of spider, with a total length of 2.77–2.79 mm (0.109–0.110 in) in adult males. In adult males, the cephalothorax is dark reddish-brown and the abdomen is mottled grey-brown and beige. The legs are tan brown with darker ring-like markings. The appearance of the female is unknown. The species is known to inhabit elevated leaf litter in a dense coastal thickets of Banksia speciosa. It has not yet been evaluated and assigned a conservation status by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. However, the species is endemic to a very small range and its only known population may be threatened by fire, dieback disease affecting Banksia, and climate change.
Ocrepeira klamt is a species of orb-weaving spider found in the Colombian paramos, named in honour of the German teacher Ulrike Klamt. Due to an armed conflict, the region in which Ocrepeira klamt can be found has been largely inaccessible until recently. Both phenotypic and genotypic studies were used to substantiate the finding that Ocrepeira klamt is a new species of the neotropical orb-weaving spiders. In addition to Ocrepeira klamt, various other neotropical orb-weaving in the genera Ocrepeira spiders have been found in the paramos region. Ocrepeira Marx, Ocrepeira globoas, and Ocrepeira subrufa are various examples of orb-weaving spiders found along with Ocrepeira klamt. Ocrepeira klamt and other orb-weaving spiders can be easily differentiated from the other genera from the shape of the carapace and the anterior humps on the abdomen. In addition, notable morphological characteristics of Ocrepeira include a patterned abdomen, a black abdomen with white spots. Presence of the carapace wide in the eye region, structure of the posterior median eyes, and abdomen physiology, including two anterior humps, confirmed the placement of Ocrepeira klamt into the Ocrepeira genus. Furthermore, unique genitalia structure and the altitude it lives separates it from other species in the genus. As compared to other species in the genus, Ocrepeira klamt was found at the highest elevation of all the Ocrepeira species in the region at 3,650 metres (11,980 ft).
Phrurolithus festivus is a spider in the family Phrurolithidae. It was originally distributed only in the Palaearctic and was introduced into Canada. The highly adaptable species inhabits a variety of both dry and wet habitats and can also be found in man-made habitats, but generally prefers open areas.
Nesticella quelpartensis, sometimes referred to as the Jeju cave baby spider, is a species of spider found only in South Korea. Its sole habitat is the lava caves of Jeju Island.
