More Information

Like more general information about spiders?
If you would like more information about spiders than is presented on this website, you could try to obtain a copy of a comprehensive monograph that has been published comparatively recently. Unfortunately, there are presently very few reference books available about the spiders of Australia that offer more than a basic overview of Australian arachnids. Those listed below are useful sources of general information about Australian spiders but may now contain some inaccuracies because so many revisions have been made in the field of spider taxonomy over the last 30 years. It is not recommended that you purchase books about the spiders of other continents because most Australian species are unique to this country.

Brunet, B. (1997) "Spiderwatch: a guide to Australian spiders" Reed New Holland, Sydney.

Hawkeswood, T.J. (2003) "Spiders of Australia: An introduction to their classification biology and distribution" Pensoft, Sofia-Moscow.

Mascord, R. (1980) "Spiders of Australia: a field guide" AH and AW Reed, Sydney.

Shield, J.M. (2001) "Spiders of Bendigo" Bendigo Field Naturalists' Club Inc, Bendigo.

Other spider web sites
Many other Australian spider web sites have been established in recent years but few of these include a very large range of individual spider genera and species. Among the best are:

The Queensland Museum

For many years the arachnologists at the Queensland Museum have undertaken the major task of correcting the many errors made by European taxonomists who over the period 1830 - 1920 first collected and named most of the more common spider species that are endemic to Australia. They are also playing a major role in expanding the list of described species this country contains.

The Australian Museum

Staff in the arachnid section of the Australian Museum in Sydney have also played a major role in the revision of the arachnids of Australia and have collaborated in a number of research projects involving the toxicity of Australian spider venoms. Their recently developed Bugwise website (at http://www.bugwise.net.au/) is also worth visiting.

The Australian Arachnological Society

This website contains some useful spider photos as well as lots of information about spiders and the people who are presently studying them, notably including Dr. Volker Framenau. In addition, its contents relate not only to true spiders but also to other arachnids, including the ticks, mites, and scorpions.

Ed Nieuwenhuys' Australian Spiders

This site has good sets of images of Australian spiders.

Nick Monaghan's Life Unseen

Nick Monaghan’s web site is dedicated to the insects, spiders and other invertebrates inhabiting the Sunshine Coast region of Southeast Queensland. The site contains a photographic record of more than 1,000 species and may serve as a good visual guide for identifications.

Email Ron Atkinson for more information. Last updated 12 October 2007.