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Blog Archives
Green Huntsman Spider
9mm body | July 9, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
This attractive green huntsman spider in the family Sparassidae (formerly Heteropodidae) was concealed beneath a leaf. With such a striking green color, it must hunt primarily in foliage.
When I found it, it was concealed within a silken retreat on the underside of a leaf. The texture of the silk is interesting.
Concealed within silken retreat
That wouldn’t do for photos though, so I poked at it until it removed itself.
Reluctantly exposed
That did allow for some nice closeup shots though, like this one of the eyes. I always try to get a shot like this to help in the identification.
Posted in Featured Photos
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Spitting Spider
5mm body | July 3, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Spitting spiders in the family Scytodidae are easily recognized by their high dome-shaped carapace. They are named for their behavior of spitting a liquid that turns gooey on contact, ensnaring their prey.
Although they occur in my area, I’ve never seen one around my home. For whatever reason, I don’t think I’ve made a trip to Brazil yet where I haven’t seen at least one. This one was on the underside of a small log.
Dorsolateral view
Posted in Featured Photos
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Aranha Caranguejeira – Tarantula
15mm body | July 9, 2011 | Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais, Brazil
I found this little tarantula (family Theraphosidae) under a rock. It could be full-grown, but I suspect it’s young and far from its adult size. It blends in quite well with the rocky ground.
Lateral view
Another angle
Despite its small size, it’s definitely got attitude. After some prodding, it demonstrated a classic threat display.
Don't mess with me
Posted in Featured Photos
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Huntsman Spider
13mm body | July 2, 2011 | Monte Alegre, Minas Gerais, Brazil
I’m pretty sure this is a huntsman spider in the family Sparassidae.
Frontal view
Posted in Featured Photos
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Odd Spider
7mm (body) | July 2, 2011 | Monte Alegre, Minas Gerais, Brazil
One of my brother-in-laws offered to drop me off for a few hours in a forested area on one of his farms. I was thrilled, but perhaps a bit anxious when he offered me a revolver in case I encountered a jaguar. I turned down the gun and if there was a jaguar in the area I never saw it.
The first critter I found was this odd looking spider. I spotted it while breaking up a rotting log. It’s quite flat, evolved no doubt for squeezing into tight spaces. I wanted to grab it for a closer look, but it managed to fall into the leaf litter and escape.
Posted in Featured Photos
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Jumping Spider with Prey
January 21, 2011 | Finca La Isla, Limon Province, Costa Rica
This little salticid has captured a small fly of some sort.
White scales on the chelicerae almost look like a mustache.
Frontal view
Posted in Featured Photos
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Male Wandering Spider
January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica
This wandering spider in the family Ctenidae was spotted at the base of a large tree.
The large palps leave no doubt that this is a male.
Palps indicate a male
The eye arrangement was my first clue to the family. They also have a deep groove along the mid-line of the carapace, called a fovea, just barely visible in these photos.
I wasn’t able to identify this one any further than family. It’s quite a large spider though. The body measured 25mm (~1″) and with legs it was around 80mm (~3″).
Some species of Ctenidae have a nasty reputation. Suspecting at the time that this was a Ctenid, I kept a respectful distance.
Posted in Featured Photos
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Gold-spotted Orb Weaver
18mm | January 20, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica
This large orb weaver was hanging out in the understory. I believe this might be Eriophora nephiloides. Most online photos for the species show a brighter yellower abdomen. It appears to be quite variable. Here’s a photo of one similar to mine (along with what’s pictured at wikipedia).
Posted in Featured Photos
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Colorful Jumping Spider
4mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica
It’s hard to resist jumping spiders. This little one sort of has the colors of the Costa Rican flag!
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Better view of abdomen
Posted in Featured Photos
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Identification Challenge #10 Reveal: Phiale guttata
15mm | January 19, 2011 | Armonia Nature Preserve, Limon Province, Costa Rica
Only Ted C. MacRae ventured a guess for this most recent identification challenge. He was exactly right, though a bit confused by his source which indicated this species might not occur in Costa Rica. This is indeed Phiale guttata.
The World Spider Catalog lists the distribution for this wide ranging species as Costa Rica to Paraguay. The Global Species Database of Salticidae site lists all the species for Costa Rica, and allowed me to eliminate the possibility of similar spiders in the same genus. There are also some good photos and illustrations there.
Posted in Identification Challenges
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