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Welcome to...The Find-a-spider GuideCreated by Dr Ron Atkinson
Welcome to the University of Southern Queensland's Find-a-spider guide! Have you found a spider but don't know what it is or whether or not it is dangerous to humans and domesticated animals? If so, this website may help you to identify it on the basis of what it looks like, how big it is, and where you found it. Current knowledge about the toxicity of each spider and some information relating to its natural history are also included. PLEASE NOTE: This website only contains information on spiders found in South-east Queensland although many of the species included have a much wider distribution throughout Australia and a few are also found in other countries. In addition, if you have a spider that was found elsewhere in the world this site could still be of some value to you since many Australian spiders are related to, and bear a close resemblance to, species that are found on other continents so the information presented here may help you track down the kind of spider you are dealing with even though that species is not actually included on this website. But what if you have heard about a particular spider but don't know what it looks like or need to find out more about it? Well, this site also allows you to search for it using either its common name or its scientific name. There is also a page on the venoms of hazardous Australian spiders. For most people the best way to use this website probably is to first read the frequently-asked questions (FAQ) section and the associated information pages then click on the Find-a-spider tab at the top of each page. From there you can search for a particular spider on the basis of its common and scientific names, the location/habitat in which you found it, the family it belongs to and the burrow, web or egg sac it builds. If you find these methods difficult to use you can simply go to a page that offers you galleries of spider photos that will in turn direct you to pages on particular spider species.
Email Ron Atkinson for more information. Last updated 12 October, 2007.
Copyright: The contents of this website remain the property of the University of Southern Queensland. Those visiting the site are permitted to make copies of any image or piece of text they wish PROVIDED the source of this material is acknowledged whenever it is published or made available to others. PLEASE NOTE that any images that display the name of the person who took them may NOT be copied since the copyright for these remains with the photographer. |