Backyard Spiders. Budgewoi to Bateau Bay.
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This site was built with assistance from the following sites and people. We recommend them for further information and identification and thank their builders and owners for the excellent resources they have provided.
Dr. Ron Atkinson's. Find A Spider Guide. Robert Whyte and Dr. Greg Anderson's Arachne.org. The Chew Brothers' Brisbane Insects.
Ed Nieuwenhueys. Spiders of Australia. as well as Project Noah.
BN98181215
Quick guide to common spiders
ARANEIDAE Orb Weavers
CORINNIDAE Corinnids
DESIDAE Intertidal Spiders
DEINOPIDAE Net-casters
HERSILIIDAE Two-tailed Spiders
LAMPONIDAE White tails
LYCOSIDAE Wolf Spiders
OXYOPIDAE Lynx Spider
SPARASSIDAE Huntsman
TETRAGNATHIDAE
THERIDIIDAE Theridiids
THOMISIDAE Crab spiders
ZORIDAE. Wandering Ghosts
Tamopsis fickerti
Also known as "Long Spinnered Spider". Although this specimen was found on a window sill after a wind storm the species is normally found on the bark of Eucalypts where their camouflage makes them almost impossible to see.
This spider had a leg spread of about the size of a fifty cent piece and like all it's kind moved in fast bursts when disturbed.
They are said to capture their prey by anchoring them to the bark with very fast spinneret movements. The spiders are found across Gondwanaland in Africa, Asia and Australasia.
Sometimes the only way the presence of the spider can be established is by egg sacs and guide threads on the bark of the trees. I suspect this one is a male. He is visible because he is on a painted surface. The last photo clearly shows the flattened nature of his body
