Wandering Spider
Ellura
Wandering Spider
 
                      
Wandering Spider (Argoctenus sp ES02)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Spiders, Scorpions, Mites & Ticks (Arachnida)
Order: Spiders (Araneae)
Family: Prowling Spider (Lycosoidea: Miturgidae)
Species: Wandering Spider (Argoctenus sp ES02)
This Photo:     

Thank you 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
The first specimen looks like A. igneus, but can't be confirmed without genital inspection.
The eyes look superficially similar to wolf spider. But the top, rear eyes are not as far back, and the front top eyes are closer together (wolf spider top eyes make a square).
We've only seen the males so far and they are ~5mm body & head length. A 3rd specimen we sighted last week was 7mm body & head length.
They have very long legs, somewhat like a Ticopa sp.
When you look close enough, from the right angle you can see they have tufts of hair over they eyes, like eyebrows.
Eye arrangement is 4 rows of 2. The pair of eyes on the 2nd bottom row are very small (very difficult to see) and outside of the bottom pair.

Copyright © 2015-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 26-Jul-2015
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.