Red-headed Mouse Spider
S6, Male, Chelicerae
Ellura
Red-headed Mouse Spider
S3, Male, Eye Arrangement
 
                      
Red-headed Mouse Spider (Missulena occatoria)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Spiders, Scorpions, Mites & Ticks (Arachnida)
Order: Spiders (Araneae)
Family: Mouse Spider (:Mygalomorph Actinopodidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Red-headed Mouse Spider (Missulena occatoria)
This Photo:     🔍S2, Male, Eye Arrangement🔎

Thank you Matthew Lindsey (Huttonia) for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA) and elsewhere
Only the much smaller males have the red head/carpace & chelicerae while the females are primarily black, occasionally with red chelicerae. The chelicerae are huge, compared to the body size, making them look quite fearful.
We don't see them often but finally caught one yesterday, to measure it's vitals and then released. The male weighed 0.1gms, and only ~10mm long (head & body). The male palps have an obviously red papal bulb & long embolus. It has short spinnerets and hairy black legs. The carpace is smooth/hairless, while the abdomen & cephalothorax have short hairs. The abdomen is blue; of all things. This genus has a very widely spread eye arrangment, unusual for a mygalomorph. 6 of the eyes are shaded by black, while 2 with none are difficult to see.

They are an "old world" (or primative) spider partially because their fangs point down. This is considered to be a less efficient killing machine (they can see their prey when they envenomate). Modern day spiders have hi-tech sideways pointing fangs, not needing to lift the head to kill it's prey.
Red headed mouse spiders don't use their venom very much (according to Qld Museum); thankfully as they are as toxic as it's cousin the Sydney Funnel Web. For bit treatment, Funnel Web Spider anti-venom works as well. But it's best not to get bitten in the first place.

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Humans do get very emotional about spiders. With the Red-Back & Sydney Funnel Web given a special place in our culture (they are the most dangerous spiders in the world), but the Funnel web has only about 13 deaths recorded against it (ever). In fact, only 27 fatalities from all spiders in Australia (mainly children, sick & ederly). 138 shark fatalities. About 1 snake fatality a year. At least these animals were here first. Yet 10 people every year die in Australia from introduced European Honey Bees, and somehow people think of them in such a positive way?

Copyright © 2006-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 19-Apr-2006
This species is an Australian Native Species, not listed in the SA Murray Mallee Survey of 2010.