Find a spider by...
common name
location
species
family
webs and egg sacs
photos
Western brown trapdoor
|
Fact Box
|
| Species: |
Arbanitis species (QM) perhaps Arbanitis variabilis
|
|
|
| Body length: |
female: 30 mm
male: 22 mm
|
|
| Habitat: |
|
In a burrow with a neatly fitting hinged door; males are mostly found above ground in Autumn
|
|
| Toxicity: |
|
Uncertain; likely to cause only mild illness in humans but should be handled with caution
|
|
|
|
This trapdoor is usually found in black soil areas of the Darling Downs and can tolerate relatively dry conditions. The female rarely leaves the burrow but the mature males search for mates in large numbers during autumn and early winter. The male is a lighter brown than the more common Euoplos male and lacks the double spur on the inside of the tibia of the first pair of legs that Euoplos has. Males rear up when provoked but do not readily yield venom as funnel-web spiders do.
Spider(s) with a very similar appearance: Euoplos species and Misgolas pulchellus.
Email Ron Atkinson for more information.
Last updated 7 February 2002.
|