Striped Bark Crab Spider
S1, male, profile
Ellura
Striped Bark Crab Spider
S1, male, anterior
 
                      
Striped Bark Crab Spider (Isala longimana)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Spiders, Scorpions, Mites & Ticks (Arachnida)
Order: Spiders (Araneae)
Family: Crab Spider (Thomisidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Striped Bark Crab Spider (Isala longimana)
This Photo:     🔍S2, female, Eye Arrangement🔎
Synonym: Stephanopis longimana

Thank you Dr Miguel Machado for identifying and Dr Ron Atkinson for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
The Female was slightly larger than the males at a little over 4mm, with the males between ~3mm to ~4mm. This is very small for this species, females are over 9mm.
We had long discussions with Ron about these, which was very appreciated.
If the id is correct it makes these a range extension for this species into SA. The habitat is also semi-arid here, rather than the damper coastal regions of the Eastern States & Tasmania where they've been recorded before. Perhaps this impacts their size?
Miguel said "This one appears to be similar to Stephanopis longimana". Miguel & his team are also working on some major changes to the very confusing Sidymella & Stephanopis groups which will hopefully clarify their separation; finally!
Find-a-spider Guide

Copyright © 2021-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 18-Feb-2021
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.