Australian spider identification location chart

With 41253 (30 April 2010) identified spiders and with probably more this amount of unidentified ones, it is difficult to identify a spider from a picture. The genitals of the male and female spider are used for professional identification. When a species is officially recorded the male and female are intensively described and the genitals are drawn. Often the eye-setting is also key feature to identify a spider. The last decade photography of the spider parts replaces drawings. An advantage of drawing still is; it can emphasise details that are lost in photographs. After identification the specimens are stored for further investigations when doubt arises about the name of the species. Officially described species are recorded in a database known as "The World Spider Catalog" of Norman Platnick. It was a hell of a task to reduce over 200 years of multiple naming of one species to a single unique name. In this database one can see how specie names are combined or moved to other genera. Name giving is volatile because identification is done by subjective features of the spider. Assigning a spiders to a family and genus is often discussable. DNA-sequencing can show more precisely in which genus and family a species belongs but is also subject to error.
	Drawings of male and female genitalia of an orb-weaving spider (Araneidae) by N. Duperre (in Framenau et. al. 2010).
For amateurs it is not always essential to find the exact name a of spider. Finding the family name of a spider is often more than enough. The family name often describes the behavior of a spider well enough. For instance: Almost all wolf spider runs in packs before you feet away. That is why they were name wolf spider. It was long believed they hunted in packs like wolfs. A jumping spider jumps and belongs to a very large family called "jumping spiders" with 5245 species world wide. The two tables, the drawings of spiders and webs below will make it easier to identify a European spider. Together with the thumbnail page you can find the family or your spider in an easy way.
Click around. Success. ß Back	Left expanded pedipalp of Backobourkia heroine by N. Scharff & J. Coddington (in Framenau et. al. 2010).

>> Thumbnail page with Australian spider photos to identify the spider from a picture.

Identification by scientific name

		Inside and outside buildings	On or close to the ground	Under stones, logs, litter, et cetera	Low or medium foliage	Tall shrubs, in trees, under bark	Rock, walls, caves, banks	Close to water or in water
No web, no retreat, sac like retreat	Hunters	Lamponidae	Corinnidae	Clubionidae		Anyphaenidae	Dysderidae	Pisauridae
		Salticidae	Gnaphosidae	Dysderidae	Clubionidae	Clubionidae
		Sparassidae	Miturgidae	Gnaphosidae		Corinnidae	Salticidae
			Pisauridae	Miturgidae	Miturgidae	Gnaphosidae
		Scytodidae	Salticidae	Lamponidae	Oxyopidae	Lamponidae	Segestriidae
			Zoridae	Nicodamidae	Pisauridae	Liocranidae	Throchanteriidae
				Throchanteriidae	Salticidae	Salticidae
				Zodariidae	Sparassidae	Sparassidae
No web, no retreat	Ambushers, fishers				Deinopidae
					Philodromidae	Philodromidae		Pisauridae
					Thomisidae	Thomisidae
Web	Orb	Uloboridae		Araneidae	Araneidae		Araneidae	Araneidae
				Uloboridae	Tetragnathidae
					Uloboridae		Uloboridae	Tetragnathidae
Web	Tangle	Pholcidae	Theridiidae	Theridiidae	Linyphiidae	Linyphiidae	Pholcidae
Web	Tangle	Theridiidae			Theridiidae	Theridiidae	Theridiidae
Web	Sheet		Hahniidae	Linyphiidae	Linyphiidae	Nephila
		Desidae		Desidae	Desidae
		Linyphiidae	Linyphiidae
Burrow, mesh, tubular retreat		Agelenidae	Agelenidae			Amaurobiidae	Oecobiidae	Agelenidae
			Lycosidae		Miturgidae	Dysderidae	Salticidae
			Mygalomorphae	Gnaphosidae				Lycosidae
		Oecobiidae	Stiphidiidae	Zodariidae	Oxyopidae

Identification by common name

		Inside and outside buildings	On or close to the ground	Under stones, logs, litter, et cetera	Low or medium foliage	Tall shrubs, in trees, under bark	Rock,walls, caves,banks	Close to water or in water
No web, no retreat	Hunters	White-tailed	Ant-like sac	Sac		Tube	Long-fanged	Fishing / Nursery web
		Jumping	Flat-bellied ground	Long-fanged	Sac	Sac
		Huntsman	Prowling	Flat-bellied ground		Ant-like sac	Jumping
			Fishing / Nursery web	Prowling	Prowling	Flat-bellied ground	Flat rock
		Spitting	Jumping	White-tailed	Lynx	White-tailed
			Wandering	Red and black	Fishing / Nursery web	Spiny–legged sac
				Flat rock	Jumping	Jumping
				Ant-hunting	Huntsman	Huntsman
No web, no retreat	Ambushers, fishers				Net-casting
					Small huntsman	Small huntsman		Fishing / Nursery web
					Crab	Crab
Web	Orb	Single-line web		Orb web	Orb web	Golden orb web	Orb web	Orb web
				Single-line web	Stretch		Orb stretch	Orb stretch
					Single-line web		Single-line web	Stretch
Web	Tangle	Daddy-long legs	Cob web	Cob web	Sheet web	Sheet web	Daddy-long legs
Web	Tangle	Cob web			Cob web	Cob web	Cob web
Web	Sheet		Dwarf sheet	Sheet web	Sheet web
		House		Long-jawed intertidal	Long-jawed intertidal
		Sheet web	Sheet web
Burrow, mesh, tubular retreat		Funnel weavers	Funnel weavers				Disc web	Funnel weavers
			Wolf		Prowling	Long-fanged	Jumping
			Primitive	Flat-bellied ground				Wolf
		Disc web	Cone web	Burrow-making	Lynx

>> Thumbnail page with Australian spider photos to identify the spider from a picture.

(1) With permission from: Framenau, V. W. , Dupérré, N., Blackledge, T.A. and Vink, C.J. 2010. Systematics of the new Australian orb-weaving spider genus Backobourkia (Araneae: Araneidae). Arthropod Systematics and Phylogeny 68 , 79-111 .

Ed Nieuwenhuys, 21 march 2023
10 may 2022,5 May 2010,April 1999

Australian spider identification location chart

>> Thumbnail page with Australian spider photos to identify the spider from a picture.

Identification by scientific name

Identification by common name

>> Thumbnail page with Australian spider photos to identify the spider from a picture.

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