Spiders

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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

NateKingsford wrote:

28 Apr 2025

The easiest way to tell Missulena and Atracidae apart is the eye arrangement. Missulena eyes will be spread across the caput region of the cephalothorax (top of the head area next to the chalicerae), while Atracid eyes will be tightly grouped together. Missulena have a more stocky appearance compared to Atracids and they have much more chonkier looking Chalicerae (the large appendage at the front of the head where the fangs attach to the body).

I'd be happy to help if you have any further questions

Missulena sp. (genus)

AlisonPignon wrote:

28 Apr 2025

Thanks Nate. He was lying on a mat doing stretches, hence it was able to crawl on him. Out of interest, how do you distinguish it from a funnel web?

Missulena sp. (genus)

NateKingsford wrote:

28 Apr 2025

That's all good Alison, it happens. This one is a mature male Missulena sp. (Looks like Missulena dispaca, however some species within the genus are incredibly hard to tell apart without a closer look under a microscope). They're taxonomic cousins to funnel webs (Atracidae family), there isn't too much known about the venom so care should be taken when handling these guys

Missulena sp. (genus)

AlisonPignon wrote:

28 Apr 2025

Hi Nate, apologies, I've just added the photos. Keen to know if it was a funnel web spider as it was crawling on my husband's leg before we took these photos! Thanks!

Missulena sp. (genus)

NateKingsford wrote:

28 Apr 2025

Hey @AlisonPignon, looks like the photo is missing from this sighting, could you please double check this :)

Missulena sp. (genus)