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

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NateKingsford

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Discussion

NateKingsford wrote:

Yesterday

Hey @WendyEM, I just did some more digging and you're right about this one! While Both H. invensuta and A. jovialis juveniles look very similar, the later has a couple white dots on the opisthosoma as well as the presence of white pedipalps. The first leg pair of H. invensuta is flatter, a bit wider and longer in comparison to A. jovialis

Holoplatys invenusta

HelenCross wrote:

Yesterday

Wow, great work everyone!

Idiosoma sp. (Genus)

WendyEM wrote:

Yesterday

thanks Nate, I'll have to look more closely at 'Holoplatys sp' I see

Holoplatys invenusta

NateKingsford wrote:

Yesterday

@WendyEM, this is the juvenile colouration of A. jovialis. They look remarkably different to the adults. Holoplatys have much flatter and broader cephalothoraxs and elongated opisthosoma

Holoplatys invenusta

NateKingsford wrote:

12 Feb 2025

Hey @8mt31v, there doesn't appear to be a photo to go along with this sighting, could you please double check this :)

Maratus griseus