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)

Moderators

YumiCallaway

NateKingsford

EmmaCollins

EathanDouglas

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Discussion

NateKingsford wrote:

Yesterday

Hey @Snows and @YumiCallaway, I would be more inclined to say A. jovialis in regards to patterning, general morphology, colouration, etc. However, with this spider being a juvenile, it can make it more difficult to seperate it from something like Holoplatys invenusta (although the shape of the legs, abdomen and opisthosoma don't align with the genus Holoplatys).

I'm happy to keep it at family level, unless @EmmaCollins or perhaps @EathanDouglas is confident enough to ID to species level

Salticidae (family)

YumiCallaway wrote:

Yesterday

Hi @Snows , thank you for letting me know, I can completely understand that iNaturalist may have already provided you with a species-level confirmation.

My confirmation of Salticidae on a family level at the moment doesn't discount your suggestion of Apricia jovialis - it very well could be and I'll quickly clarify my process!

Confirming this sighting to Salticidae is a reflection of my practice as a moderator, where I will only confirm to the level of ID of which I can be certain (wherever possible). This is to reduce the number of errors and the misinformation or confusion which may result from them. So, on occasion, I personally won't verify a sighting if there is uncertainty (Eg. for this individual, it appears to have significantly reduced setae, with notably faint colours on the legs. As the view is dorsal, it is difficult to gauge the proportions of the abdomen and so on). Often, I will confirm to a higher level of ID until I can undertake detailed research to eliminate the possibility of it being something I haven't considered. It's one way of managing my workflow, and getting some information back to you. It certainly doesn't work for everyone and the other spider moderators on NatureMapr can offer their own ID over mine at any time :)

On that note - if @NateKingsford or @EmmaCollins want to jump in here, they can offer their knowledge too! It's worth noting that we moderate on a volunteering basis with variable availability too.

Salticidae (family)

Snows wrote:

Yesterday

@YumiCallaway , iNaturalist is confirming this to be Apricia jovialis at this stage

Salticidae (family)

NateKingsford wrote:

9 May 2025

Nice photos of a fast moving subject!

Nyssus coloripes

NateKingsford wrote:

7 May 2025

Whoops, I remember typing in Phonognathidae, not Podargus