Marbled Swift Spider
S4, Female, dorsal, close
Ellura
Marbled Swift Spider
S4, Female, profile, messy web
 
                      
Marbled Swift Spider (Ticopa sp)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Spiders, Scorpions, Mites & Ticks (Arachnida)
Order: Spiders (Araneae)
Family: Swift Spider (Corinnidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Marbled Swift Spider (Ticopa sp)
This Photo:     🔍S1, Male, profile, Close🔎

Thank you Dr Volker Framenau for identifying and Dr Robert Raven for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
A medium sized spider with body & head length of ~7-10mm. Males & Females are similar size.
While it looks like T. hudsoni, Robert said "It should be Ticopa australis" in that region. "The patterns are not absolute, especially with the few specimens we have of Ticopa". The male palps need to be examined under a microscope to make a definitive id. Robert described the species in 2015, which highlights how impossible it is for ameteurs to be certain of their species id.
We originally thought we had a Prowling, Water or perhaps even Orb spider here. Very long legs, all about equal length and spacing. Found on our annex wall. It has a lot of red/brown "skin" showing, with a lot of black blotches & spots. Black spikes (like a Lynx spider), with very short white/grey hair sparsely scattered on the body and legs. The abdomen is completely covered (above, sides & below) in short hair; mainly white/grey except for the black hair in a triangular edged stripe down the back and dappled underneath. The legs do have very fine hair on them, but it's almost invisible. It has 4 small spinnerets near the rear tip, not visible from above
Most importantly the eye arrangement: 2 rows of 4 (but the rows are curved, not straight). The 6 largest (most obvious) eyes make a hexagon shape.
We have found 2 males and 5 females, in Dec, Jan, Feb & May.

Copyright © 2016-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 27-Jan-2016
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.