Spider night hunter description. Australia's most amazing spiders
- Class: Arachnida Lamarck, 1801 = Arachnids
- Squad: Araneae = Spiders
- suborder: Araneomorphae = Araneomorphic spiders
- Family: Theridiidae = Tenet spiders
Species: Dolomedes fimbriatus L. = Hunter spider
The hunter spider belongs to the tarantula family and, if it does not live in the water itself, then always near it and even above its very surface.
The color of the upper side of his body is olive-brown with a wide yellow or white border on the sides. In the middle of the abdomen, four longitudinal rows of silvery-white dots are noticeable, the chest is yellow with a brown edge, and the belly is gray. The female reaches 1 inch and the male barely 5 lines.
This is the same spider that you capture every now and then along with marsh plants. This spider does not build an underwater bell, but builds an equally interesting water raft. The fact is that this spider, having remarkably fast legs, perfectly catches up with any prey on earth, and when it has to chase it through the water, then, being a bad walker in the liquid element, it resorts to this kind of trick: having gone to the middle water, collects dry leaves and other light objects floating on the surface of the water and, having knocked them into a heap, binds them tightly with a silky cobweb, and now something like a raft is obtained. Now the spider is no longer afraid of water, no longer afraid of either the waves or the wind, and, sitting on its floating island, it moves from one edge of the puddle to the other, vigilantly watching its prey. And as soon as he notices something suitable, with the speed of lightning he rushes at the victim, clings to it and drags it onto his raft, where he devours it.
The female of this spider attaches her testicles to plants near water and surrounds them with her cocoon of loose white cobwebs. Having laid the eggs, she diligently guards until the babies hatch from them, and then she leaves the care of them to nature itself.
Such a spider I caught on the Uche River lived with me in a small bank all summer, eating flies, which I threw to it, after damaging the wings a little so that they could not fly away. From the leaves scattered by me on the water, he arranged for himself a kind of raft, tying them very cleverly with a cobweb, and sat on them, constantly vigilantly watching what was happening on the surface of the water and around him. In order to catch prey, he entangled with a web not only a swamp plant that towered above the water, to which, it must be said, he attached his raft, but he skilfully drew several threads and near the very surface of the water, which he did by rather deftly holding on to the water. His appetite was quite large, and if he did not receive two flies a day, then at first he showed amazing activity in tricks for catching prey, and then fell into some kind of drowsiness, even as if changing his rather bright color to a paler, molt .
The biological side of this spider, apart from what has just been said, is still very little known, but it deserves the attention of amateurs who, in all likelihood, will find a lot of interesting and instructive things in the life of this animal.
Spiders instill fear in people and can even provoke a persistent phobia of themselves. Many visitors to the shores of Australia are more than concerned about the venomous eight-legged friends of the Australians.
It's true - this country is home to some of the most poisonous spiders in the world. But the reputation of Australian spiders is exaggerated - the death in April 2016 was the first recorded death from a spider bite in the country since 1981.
Spiders are the most widely distributed venomous creatures in Australia, with an estimated 10,000 species living in a variety of ecosystems. Despite the fact that spiders live all around us, from the city center to the bushes in the desert, their bites are not frequent. In fact, spiders are less dangerous than snakes or sharks, or even bees, whose sting can cause severe allergies.
Antidotes for the venom of two of the country's most dangerous spiders, the funnel-web spider and the Australian widow spider, were developed in 1950 and 1981, respectively. It is used only when the poisoning is really severe, which is rare.
Spider venom contains a cocktail of chemical substances, some of which may indeed be harmful to humans - but when you think about it, a person is not the intended victim, and this is not a large number of can't hurt us much. The venom of the spider is intended for small prey and is produced in minute quantities, which, although a lethal dose for tiny animals and insects, can be processed by a larger organism.
10 Common garden orb weaver spider, Eriophora sp
As the name suggests, garden orb weaving spiders are a typical species of Australia. Their bite has only a minor effect - a little pain at the site of the bite, but at the same time the spiders are quite aggressive: they are the most biting of the common species in the country.
Between 1.5 cm and 3 cm in size, these spiders live in all gardens and weave webs between trees and hedges where insects are most likely to fly over and get caught in sticky nets. Active at night, they hide during the day and rest hanging on a web under a leaf.
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9 Hunter spider (Huntsman spiders, Sparassidae family)
Hunter spiders are widespread in Australia. They are famous for the fact that these slightly (up to 15 cm in size) scary, hairy black spiders periodically unexpectedly jump out from behind the curtains. In fact, hunter spiders are reluctant to bite and often run away when approached, and their venom is not dangerous to humans.
Accidents pose a great danger when, in horror, drivers inadequately react to the appearance of a huge spider from behind the sun visor or from under the dashboard of a car in motion. Despite their intimidating appearance, hunter spiders can be helpful. They fight pests by consuming large numbers of harmful insects in homes.
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8 Recluse spider, Loxosceles reclusa
The recluse spider has a potentially dangerous hemotoxic venom that poisons the blood and skin. There was even a mailing of letters about this spider, allegedly tissue necrosis develops from its bites and huge terrible wounds appear, but it was just a hoax to scare people.
In 20 years of research on these spiders in Australia, their range has not increased and not a single case of serious poisoning has been reported. Therefore, despite the myth, this spider can hardly be considered very dangerous in Australia, although bites are known with serious consequences in South America. In addition, the spider has tiny fangs and no tendency to bite.
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7 Australian tarantula (Australian tarantulas, Phlogius crassipes)
Australia has its own tarantulas. They are also called tarantulas, although this is rarely justified. These spiders primarily feed on insects, including other spiders, lizards, and frogs, and occasionally prey on nestling birds.
There are mainly four genera Selenocosmia, Selenotholus, Selenotypus and Phlog iellus, found throughout the country. Despite being frightening big sizes and hairy legs (6 cm body and 16 cm leg span), tarantulas are not very dangerous to humans. They have rather painful bites due to their large fangs (1 cm long), but severe consequences (nausea, vomiting, fever) are rare. However, occasionally they manage to kill the dog. Females live for about 12 years and males for about five years.
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6 White-tailed spiders, Lampona cylindrata and Lampona murina
Lampona cylindrata is found in wild and urban areas in southern Australia, from south Queensland to Tasmania, in eastern and west coasts, and the species Lampona murina in eastern Australia. Unlike burrowing spiders, white-tailed spiders are nomadic hunters and roam at night, hunting other spiders.
White-tailed spiders are believed to carry a necrotic, flesh-destroying venom, although scientific evidence does not support this. Recent studies have shown that the venom does not pose a great danger to humans and is limited to moderate pain at the site of the bite.
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5 Mason spider (Trap door spiders, Idiopidae family)
The way these spiders hunt is to mask the entrance to the hole in order to deceive and drag the victim passing by, in connection with which they were named. Measuring 1.5 to 3 cm long, and as is often the case, females are significantly larger than males, but males are more aggressive when threatened.
Found in the wild or urban environment of Australia, the bite of these spiders causes only minor symptoms in humans, usually causing only local pain, but sometimes nausea, lethargy and malaise.
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4 Mouse spider (Missulena)
There are eight species of mouse spiders found throughout Australia, they are commonly found in burrows, often near rivers and bodies of water, and can occasionally be found in suburban areas.
The venom of these spiders is similar to funnel-web spiders, although they are not credited with death; Only one case has been reported severe poisoning. Studies have shown that funnel-web spider antidote is effective for funnel-web spiders as well. It is sometimes difficult to tell the two species apart, and it is highly recommended that you treat their bites with the same caution.
Mouse spiders are quite lethargic and rarely aggressive. The females usually stay in their burrow while the males wander in search of their other half. Unlike other spiders, they are often active during the daytime, while other species from the same family prefer to be active at night to avoid heat and predators active during the day.
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3 Australian widow (Redback spider, Latrodectus hasselti)
The Australian widow is found throughout Australia, including cities. Spiders often hide in dry, sheltered areas such as garden sheds, mailboxes, and under toilet seats.
The exact number of spider bites is unknown, but about two thousand reports are received each year and about 250 people receive antivenom. There have been no deaths since the advent of the antidote in the 1950s.
The most severe bites are in females, which are about 1 cm long (larger than males) and are recognizable by the well-known red stripe on the back, from which it gets its name. They have a neurotoxic venom that is dangerous to humans, but their small fangs make many bites ineffective because the poison does not penetrate the body. The spread of the poison causes various negative effects, but the main symptom is severe and persistent pain - which can last from several hours to several days depending on the sensitivity to the poison, in addition - nausea, malaise and lethargy.
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2 Other funnel-webs (Other funnel-webs, Agelenidae)
There are about 40 funnel-web spider species in Australia, but only six of them cause severe envenoming, with victims usually from southern Queensland and northern New South Wales.
The most dangerous are the impressive northern arboreal funnel spider - Hadronyche formidabilis (length 4-5 cm) and the small southern Funnel spider - Hadronyche cerberea. Half of the bites of these species result in severe intoxication.
Every year, up to 30-40 people fall prey to these spiders, but there is an available and effective antidote. They mainly feed on everything from beetles to frogs, the period of greatest activity in warm months, from November to March.
1 Sydney Funnel Web Spider (Sydney funnel-web, Atrax robustus)
With a highly toxic venom produced in large quantities and large fangs, the Sydney Funnel Spider is without a doubt the deadliest spider in Australia and possibly the world.
Found in New South Wales, in forests, as well as in densely populated cities, they burrow in moist, hidden places. They can crawl in backyards and sometimes fall into pools. They are not common, but they can be very aggressive when threatened.
Measuring only 1.5 to 3.5 cm in size, the Sydney Funnel Spider has large fangs and they are so powerful that they can even pierce through toenails. Their venom contains the protein Delta atracotoxin, which acts directly on nervous system a person and can disrupt the functioning of organs, and the bite of a male can generally kill. Every sixth bite causes a severe reaction, an antidote was found in 1981 and no deaths have been recorded since.
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These spiders do not weave webs. They are often referred to as fishing spiders.
The life of these spiders is associated with water, although they are not truly aquatic. You can see them in ambush on the shore of a reservoir: the hind legs cling to coastal vegetation, and the front ones are on the water in order to catch the approach of the victim by fluctuations in the surface film. If the hunters are frightened off, they dive under the water with a quiet splash.
The genus Dolomedes from the Pisaurid family has about 100 species living on all continents. In Europe, there are two species that are very similar to each other. They run with us too.
Females carry eggs in a spherical web cocoon, the diameter of which can reach 1 cm.
The limb hunter is one of our largest spiders. Females are larger than males and reach a length of 6 cm with legs. They are found near water bodies and in damp wetlands quite far from water, but they hunt mainly on water, eating mosquito larvae, water striders, dragonflies, flies and insects that have inadvertently fallen into the water . They can catch small fish. Grabbing and biting the prey, they drag it to the shore so that they can slowly suck out the already dissolved contents there. They do not need to braid the victim with cobwebs and wait - one bite is enough to digest not only the insides, but even part of the insect's strong integuments.
RUNNING ON THE WAVES
Dolomedes are quite large spiders and nevertheless feel at home on the surface of the water. They are light enough to float on the surface. It also helps that on the legs and body there are special hairs covered with a fat-like substance that repel water. But running on a shaky surface, as if on land, does not work, and spiders glide over it, or rather, into it. top layer, like on skis, only instead of skis they have dense water holes formed under their feet due to the deflection of the surface tension film of water.
Kamchataya hunter lives not only in reservoirs, but also in swampy meadows.
You can compare these pits with oars. The spider rows alternately with two pairs of middle legs, using the front and back pairs as floats. Probably, water strider bugs move in much the same way.
Sometimes a spider has to develop considerable speed in order to have time to grab an insect that has fallen into the water. But if you move on the oars very quickly, then the pressure of the paws on the water increases and the spider can go under the water, like a water skier who has lost his balance. Therefore, in such cases, he uses a different tactic: he leans back, rises on his hind legs and nimbly jumps through the water as if at a gallop, sticking his legs into the water, at a speed of more than half a meter per second. This is more like a rapid run on the water of the South American basilisk lizard.
Insects that have chosen coastal plants often become victims of this spider.
ANGLER UNDER SAIL
But that's not all. With a fair wind, dolomedes are able to sail. The spider's raised front paws serve as a sail, and even the whole body, especially in young, very light spiders. They can also drift, using a leaf or a blade of grass instead of a raft.
If the dolomedes is frightened, it dives under the water with a quiet splash. There he can stay for quite a long time, about an hour, holding on to aquatic plants with his paws. Air bubbles covering his body help him breathe underwater. They also help you float to the surface. Once under water, the spider can, on occasion, attack tadpoles and fry, and sometimes fish the size of a small stickleback, which is why these spiders are also called fishing spiders.
MOTHER NUNSPERS
Mating takes place in May - June, after which the female, having climbed onto the coastal vegetation, builds a dense brown cobweb about 1 cm in diameter and lays up to 500 eggs in it. A caring mother carries a cocoon with her for about three weeks, holding it between her legs with chelicerae and attaching it to the spider webs with a cobweb. In the morning and in the evening it takes it out to the sun, and during the day it periodically dips it into water so that it does not dry out, rotating its hind legs for more even wetting, and during this period it usually does not hunt. Shortly before the appearance of the spiderlings, she again climbs onto the plants and builds a brood dome. For about a week, the spiders will sit in the dome and the spider will be nearby, carefully guarding them. This is what many pisaurids do. It is understandable why they are also called nurse spiders.
Then the young spiders will disperse, will grow, and only after surviving another winter, will they become adults and also leave behind offspring.
Many pisaurid males present wedding gifts to females - flies wrapped in a web, and some go to the trick, slipping inedible empty insect skins or pieces of plants instead. This increases their chances of not being eaten when mating.
The male dolomedes does it easier: he waits for the female to catch the prey and start eating, and sometimes does without it. Hitting the water with his belly and waving his front legs in front of the female, he shows her his disposition. At this point, how lucky: it happens that he himself becomes prey.
Scientists announce they have found the new kind giant tarantulas, whose leg span reaches 20 cm. In other words, the size of this spider reaches the size of an average human face.
And if that didn't scare you enough, it's worth noting the fact that this representative lives in trees. Now imagine that you are walking in the woods and a spider the size of a volleyball dangles from a cobweb and lands on your face.
However, as the scientists explained, due to deforestation and the lack of a suitable habitat, they also settle in old buildings.
A new species was found in the north of Sri Lanka and named Poecilotheria rajaei.
It belongs to the tiger spiders with a beautiful colorful pattern, being also fast and poisonous.
Scientists say that the bite of this tarantula is not fatal to humans, but it can kill animals such as mice, lizards, small birds and snakes.
The biggest spider in the world
The discovered spider belongs to the South American tarantulas, to which it also belongs Goliath tarantula (Theraphosa Blonda)- most big spider in the world, whose leg span reaches up to 28 cm, and weight 170 grams. He lives in tropical forests Suriname, Guyana and French Guiana, as well as Venezuela and Brazil.
Despite the intimidating appearance and the telling name, it is relatively harmless, and does not eat birds, but prefers insects, as well as frogs and lizards.
Photo of the largest spider
The world's largest spiders
Giant Hunter Spider ( Heteropoda maxima)
The leg span of this spider reaches 30 cm, but they do not have a very large body, and these are not the largest spiders in terms of weight. They live in caves in Laos.
Brazilian tarantula ( Lasiodora parahybana)
This spider lives in the northeastern part of Brazil. The size of the legs reaches 20 cm, and sometimes 25 cm, and the weight of the spider is more than 100 grams. They are quite popular pets among spider lovers.
Colombian tarantula ( Xenesthis immanis) And ( Xenesthis monstrosa)
Both of these species have the same size, and their leg span reaches 23 cm.
Spider "Hercules baboon" ( Hysterocrates Hercules)
This is certainly not a baboon, but it also boasts a large leg span - 20.3 cm.
From all continents the globe Australia is perhaps the most amazing and mysterious. Due to its remoteness from other continents, a peculiar animal and vegetable world. Of all the variety Australian fauna today we will consider spiders, of which there are more than 10,000 species on the Green Continent. Not all spiders in Australia are venomous and carry mortal danger for a person, but meeting with them always causes anxiety and alertness even among those who do not suffer from arachnophobia.
hunter spider
This type of spider is quite widespread throughout the Australian continent, and they can be found everywhere. Sometimes they climb into the houses of Australians, which cause a lot of trouble for the owners.
A typical large Huntsman spider moves fast enough to cover a distance of one meter in one second. Its size, together with its paws, reaches a diameter of 15 cm, but, despite its awesome size, they are practically harmless.
They prefer to openly hunt their victims, and not from ambush, as many of their brethren do. They are distinguished by non-aggressive behavior, and lead mainly night image life. Note that in 2016, the largest spider in the world was discovered in Australia, belonging to this particular type of spider.
Nephilic Circumspins
Spiders collected under the common name Nephila, which translates from Latin as "loving to weave", are known in Australia under different names. They are called and banana spiders, and golden spiders, and because of their large size, you can often hear the name - a large tree spider.
Relatively small sizes spiders, growing from 2 to 4 cm, skillfully weave a web, into which even small birds sometimes fall. Their venom is strong enough to kill prey, but is completely harmless to humans.
Interestingly, fishermen weave nets from representatives of the genus Nephila, and thus fish on the ocean coast.
Black house spider
Already the name of this spider indicates that they can often be found in residential areas. Badumna insignis are distributed throughout Australia, and most time is spent in the web woven by him in the form of a funnel.
They usually live on tree trunks, under stones or on the walls of housing constructions. In houses, they equip their web traps near windows or doorways. But you can meet the web in the corners of the room.
It will never attack a person first, but after a bite, a groove remains, and the bite site is accompanied by painful swelling.
mouse spider
One appearance of this spider can cause awe, and most importantly, scare even the most courageous daredevil. This is one of the representatives big view Missulena, and these spiders are distributed throughout Australia.
They live in the ground, digging small holes for themselves, but, interestingly, they make two entrances, thus ensuring their safety. The strong jaws and strong paws of mouse spiders allow them to hunt representatives of the fauna much larger than themselves.
Their bite is painful, let in poison can harm human health, but pharmacists have long come up with a successful antidote.
wolf spider
A spider lives in the vastness of Australia with such an exotic name, although it is known to science as Lycosidae, which literally means “wolf” from ancient Greek.
The length of the calf does not exceed 30 mm, and you can meet this amazing spider with long legs in any corner of Australia. They feed on beetles, but are not averse to feasting on flies if caught.
Calm, non-aggressive predators living in holes rarely attack people. But in moments of danger, they can bite painfully, although the poison released during a bite is not dangerous to human life.
spider mason
They are also called digger spiders, as they pull out minks in the ground, and, disguising them, wait for the victim to be ambushed. They belong to atypical tarantulas, and have a rather toxic poison.
They grow from 1.5 to 3 cm and lead a measured lifestyle, rarely attacking a person. Males can show some aggression, but only in moments of danger. When bitten, a local swelling occurs, and sometimes the poison, if it enters the human body, can cause dizziness, nausea and vomiting.
They are social animals and live mostly in colonies.
white tail spider
This amazing spider has a white spot on a reddish-brown abdomen. In Australia, there are two species of similar spiders, which are scientifically named Lampona cylindrata and Lampona murina.
distinguish them without special training rather difficult, and perhaps many of the species are simply not identified. White-tailed spiders do not weave webs, but pursue prey at night.
One of the few Australian spiders that eat their own kind, and the list of their victims is headed by the black house spider.
jumping spiders
Unusual animals from a huge family of araneomorphic spiders have adapted to live in any natural areas And climatic conditions. For this reason, they literally occupied the entire country.
They are distinguished good vision, which helps them hunt, looking for prey. Of course, how bad it can be to see if you have 8 eyes, moreover, arranged in three rows.
The eyes also serve to navigate the habitats. Jumping spiders are diverse in body color, and adults do not grow more than 4 centimeters in diameter.
Australian tarantulas
Tarantulas are found on many continents of the planet, but it is in Australia that these spiders are the largest. Together with paws certain types reach 23 cm in length, and their fangs grow up to 1 cm and have a rather formidable and intimidating appearance.
The most unique is the Selenocosmia species, called local residents"Queensland whistling tarantula", as it makes unusual hissing sounds.
As you can see in the photo, this type of hairy spider, like all tarantulas, grows to an impressive size, and their bite, although not fatal to humans, is quite painful and causes discomfort.
loxosceles
The intimidating appearance of this recluse spider and its photographs on the Internet have given rise to the stereotype about the danger of the Loxosceles species. But, as scientists assure, this creature with long legs and a small body is not so dangerous.
True, after his bite, the wounds heal for a long time, and the poison is toxic and leads to allergies. But these spiders rarely attack humans, and so far no Loxosceles bite victims have been recorded in Australia.
In addition, this species is not numerous, hermit spiders live only in certain areas of the mainland, far from settlements so meeting them is very difficult.
More recently, a new species of spider was discovered in Australia, which received the Latin name Dolomedes briangreenei. This is the only one so far famous spider in Australia, able to swim, and skillfully hunt fish.
Scientists have found that he prefers to live on the coasts of freshwater reservoirs and streams near Brisbane. In the same Australian city, a new spider was introduced to the world.
With the help of the back pair of paws, he quickly moves on the surface of the water, and when he sees the prey, he instantly dives and captures his prey. Then he pulls the fish ashore, and only, already on the ground, eats the prey.
redback spider
Among the poisonous spiders, a special place on the Australian continent is occupied by the red-backed spider, known to science under the Latin name Latrodectus hasselti.
It can be easily distinguished by the characteristic red stripe running along the upper surface of the body. It has the strongest venom of all Australian spiders. The bite leads to systemic disorders, and in some cases can lead to death.
This beautiful but dangerous spider is on the list of animals that exhibit sexual cannibalism. The female after mating eats her partner in order to restore energy for carrying eggs.
tree funnel spider
This species of spiders, having the Latin name Hadronyche formidabilis, lives in the northern regions of the continent, and is characterized by rather impressive sizes up to 5 cm and toxic poison.
After a bite, severe intoxication of the human body occurs, and statistics show that every year 30-40 people are attacked by this aggressive spider.
The spider feeds on everything that lives near its habitat, and can even eat frogs. But the main diet is made up of beetles and other small insects.
Sydney leucoweb spider
One of the most the most dangerous spiders of the planet Sydney leukopautinous is the only representative of the genus Atrax. the site does not want you to accidentally be in close proximity with such a "handsome".
It has a very aggressive disposition, and unlike relatives who prefer to avoid confrontation, this spider will attack and seek to bite. In addition, he has fangs that bite into his prey.
There have been several cases in history when, after being bitten by this spider, within 30 minutes, a person experienced death. But, today there is an antidote that has reduced the risk of death.
Finally
Truly Australia amazing country, and, as you can see, is home to many species of various spiders. They can be found in the most unusual places. So on the Youtube network you can find a video in which an unkillable spider was found in the toilet in Australia, which remained alive even after several flushes of water.
The purpose of our review was to show that Australian spiders are not as dangerous as they are sometimes made out, because the last death from a spider bite on the continent was officially registered back in 1981.
