Australia is famous as a country of dangerous snakes, sharks and
crocodiles,
and of course, the deadly spiders.
But in reality, only 17 species of
Australia’s 70 families of spiders are dangerous to us, and even though
many of them live in close proximity to humans, some in our homes and
gardens, human fatalities from spider bites are seldom heard. Neither
has Australia got the biggest spider in the world, or any flesh eating
spiders. Identifying spiders is not easy, but here are some pictures of
spiders, and facts about deadliest spiders and common spiders in
Australia.
Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to
buy.
Many Types of Spiders - The Deadliest Spiders in Australia
Australia's many types of spiders are classified as either primitive or
modern spiders. The group of primitive spiders consists of 10 families
and 241 species. Primitive spiders live underground and only males are
seen above the ground when they go out of their burrows to forage once
darkness has fallen. Primitive spiders rely on crawling insects to
stumble into their capture range, and they usually stay close to their
burrow entrance. They have poor eyesight compared to modern spiders,
and they have not evolved the silken snare to build a web – probably
because of their very long generation turnover – they can live for 20
years. Modern spiders rarely live longer than for two years, and the
quick generation turnover allows them to evolve evolutionary
adaptations much quicker. Advantages of living underground are
protection from floods and bushfires.
Poster by AllPosters. Click on
thumbnail to buy.
Many Types of Spiders: Funnel Web Spiders and Mouse Spiders
Australian primitive spiders include 81 species of trapdoors and 35
species of funnel-webs. Both groups look similar but funnel web spiders
are mostly blue-black while trapdoor spiders are mostly brown; and
trapdoor spiders prefer dryer areas while funnel web spiders like moist
habitats. Another difference is that trapdoor spiders
are shy and run away when approached, while funnel web
spiders
are very aggressive. Only five species of Australian primitive spiders
are dangerous to humans: Sydney Funnel Web Spider is the most dangerous
of them. Sydney Funnel Web spiders (Atrax
robustus)
live in eastern parts of Australia, particularly in New
South Wales where they are very common on the coast
between Newcastle and Nowra. Sydney Funnel Web Spider is deadly to
humans and probably the deadliest spider in the world – it possesses
the most dangerous toxins to humans (along with the Blue-ringed
Octopus) – neurotoxins.
Sydney Funnel Web Spiders lives in moist forests but also in soil
beneath houses, between garden rocks, and sometimes compost heaps. When
agitated, it attacks aggressively so gloves and boots are recommended
when working in the garden during the summer and autumn. The Blue
Mountains Funnel Web Spider (Hadronyche versutus)
is
similar to Sydney Funnel Web in appearance, but it is restricted to the
Blue
Mountains area west of Sydney.
It is hasn’t caused any fatalities, but probably only because it lives
in less populated areas – it is almost as toxic as the Sydney
Funnel-web and is regarded dangerous. Northern Tree
Funnel Web
Spider (Hadronyche formidabilis)
is much larger than Sydney and Blue Mountains Funnel Webs – it is 50mm
long and lives in trees, sometimes as high as 30m from the ground. It
hasn’t caused any fatalities but it is considered highly dangerous to
humans, particularly kids. Northern Tree Funnel-web likes mountainous
country and is found in rainforest pockets and heavily timbered forests
in northern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland,
particularly in the Hunter River
Valley. Mouse Spider (Actinopodidae
sp.) is
named after the extraordinary depth of its burrows – few other spiders
dig 1m down the ground! Mouse Spiders will attempt to bite when
provoked, and although no fatalities are known, they carry poison
dangerous to humans. Red Headed Mouse Spider
(Missulena
insigne)
is Australia’s most beautifully coloured primitive spider – males have
got a red head and a blue abdomen. They are considered dangerous to
humans and their bites have caused serious illness and coma.
Poster by AllPosters. Click on
thumbnail to buy.
Many Types of Spiders: White Tailed Spider and Fiddle
Back
Spider
Australian modern spiders are divided into four groups: open-range
hunters (853 species, 45% of Australian spiders), ambushers and anglers
(200 species, 10% of Australian spiders), apprentice weavers (270
species, 14% of Australian spiders) and master weavers (340 species,
17% of Australian spiders). The open range hunters live on ground level
– under rocks and bark, in low foliage and waterways. They are mostly
nocturnal, and as opposed to the primitive spiders’
“wait-and-grab”-strategy, they take the initiative to find and hunt
prey. The open range hunters include sac spiders, wolf spiders, nursery
web spiders, huntsman spiders, jumping spiders and spitting spiders.
The dangerous ones include the infamous White Tailed
Spider
(Lampona cylindrata), Garden Wolf
Spider (Lycosa
godeffroyi), Northern Green Jumping Spider (Mopsus
mormon),
two species of huntsman piders (Neosparassus calligaster
and Neosparassus
punctuatus), two families of sac spiders (Miturga sp
and Cheiracanthium
spp.) and two introduced species – Dysderids (Dysdera
crocota)
and the highly venomous Fiddle Back Spider
(Loxosceles
sp.).
There are no known fatalities from any of them, but many are considered
highly venomous and others cause headaches, swelling, vomiting,
diarrhoea, muscular pain, nausea and necrotic sores (necrosis means
death of tissue).
Poster by AllPosters. Click on
thumbnail to buy.
Many Types of Spiders: Crab Spiders and Triangular Spiders
Ambushers and anglers are a group of about 200 species of mostly
nocturnal spiders that live in shrubbery, flowers and tree trunks –
where insects are active. They include crab spiders
(Thomisidae
sp.) that exploit flowers; triangular spiders
(Araneidae
sp.) that wait for the prey in foliage; orchard spiders, (Leucauge
venusta), bolas (Araneidae sp.) and mimicking
spiders that mimicry on tree trunks; and net-casting
spiders (Deinopidae sp.)
that construct silken nets which they cast over their prey. All of the
many types of spiders in this group are totally non poisonous and
harmless to humans.
Poster by AllPosters. Click on
thumbnail to buy.
Many Types of Spiders - Australian Red Back Spider and
Black
House Spider
Apprentice weavers include many types of spiders like lace-webs,
lattice-webs, tangle-webs and wheel-webs that live in medium-height
foliage: in shrubs, tree stumps, rock ledges and sandstone caves. They
have developed a kind of silken snare to catch their prey and the bulk
of their diet is flying insects. Apprentice weavers’ snares are usually
complicated three-dimensional structures which don’t only help to catch
the prey but also provide protection from predators. There are a few
spiders in this group that are dangerous to humans. Black
House Spider (Badumna insignis)
is known to be found at the corners of windowpanes where it catches
insects attracted to the light on the window screen. They are not
lethal but can cause nausea, vomiting, headache, muscular pains and
chills. The infamous Red back spider (Latrodectus
hasseltii)
is not aggressive, but its venom has proved fatal. Medical aid should
be called immediately and while waiting for the ambulance, victims are
asked the impossible task to remain calm to slow the spreading of the
poison.
Poster by AllPosters. Click on
thumbnail to buy.
Many Types of Spiders - Golden Orb Weaver Spider and St
Andrews
Cross Spider
While the apprentice weavers pioneered the snare evolution, master
weavers are the masters of webs, and the masters of spider evolution.
They are by far the most successful spiders when it comes to time and
energy, having been able to abandon hunting and developing poison -
instead they build their webs in insect flight paths and wait for the
insects to fly in there. The two-dimensional webs are perfectly
designed with a symmetrical wheel in the centre which allows the spider
that sits in the hub, immediately feel when an insect touches any part
of the web. The design also allows large areas with minimal silk, and
the pattern of geometric radii allows the spider to quickly move across
the web while making minimal contact with it. Master weavers are also
advanced communicators – they have a vocabulary of signals which they
transmit across the web by strumming, plucking and shaking, and most
amazingly - when two wheel-weawing spiders were taken to America’s
Skylab to see if they could build their webs without gravity, they did
it effortlessly. Australian master weawers are Golden
Orb
Weaver Spider (Nephiliane spp.), St
Andrews
Cross Spider (Argiope keyserlingi),
Spiny (Gasteracantha
spp.) and Wheel Weaving Garden Spider (Eriophora
transmarine).
All of the many types of spiders in this group are non poisonous
spiders and completely harmless to humans.
Note:
This site uses
British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will
find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all
correct in the language used in Australia.
Disclaimer: Although
best efforts have been made to ensure
that all the information on this site is correct,
gondwananet.com is not to be blamed should there be a mistake.
Copyright notice:
All contents of this website are strictly protected
by the Law of Copyright. What
does that mean?