Australian spiders
Use the spider identifier to narrow down common Australian spiders.
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Hadronyche adelaidensis
Adelaide funnel-web spider
South Australian funnel-web from the Gulf-region species group, unusual among funnel-webs for constructing a trapdoor burrow.
Read identification guide →Idiosoma subtriste
Adelaide trapdoor spider
A South Australian four-spotted trapdoor spider, currently catalogued as Idiosoma subtriste, that can be mistaken for a funnel-web when a dark mygalomorph appears in Adelaide.
Read identification guide →Euryopis species
Ant-eating comb-footed spider
A small Australian comb-footed spider associated with ants. Some Euryopis use silk directly during an attack instead of relying on a permanent prey-catching web.
Read identification guide →Zodariidae
Ant-eating spider
A diverse Australian ground-spider family whose members may have a dark spotted abdomen, ringed legs and specialised relationships with ants, but not every species eats or mimics ants.
Read identification guide →Myrmarachne and related groups
Ant-mimic spider
Small spider that resembles an ant, often with a narrow body and quick ant-like movement.
Read identification guide →Euoplos species
Armoured trapdoor spiders
Euoplos is a genus of Australian trapdoor spiders. Different species occupy separate regions, so this guide stays at group level.
Read identification guide →Karaops species
Australian flattie spider
Extremely flattened, quick wall-and-bark hunter in the Australian genus Karaops, often mistaken for a small huntsman.
Read identification guide →Atracidae
Australian funnel-web spiders
A group of dark, mygalomorph spiders from eastern Australia, often linked with silk-lined retreats and burrows.
Read identification guide →Selenocosmia and related theraphosids
Australian tarantula / whistling spider
Large hairy mygalomorph spider from warmer parts of Australia, usually associated with deep burrows and heavy legs.
Read identification guide →Tasmanicosa species
Australian Union-Jack wolf spider
A conservative genus-level guide to Australian Union-Jack wolf spiders: a radiating carapace pattern can support Tasmanicosa, but it cannot identify a species from an ordinary photograph.
Read identification guide →Neosparassus species
Badge huntsman spider
Large Australian huntsman with sideways-spreading legs and a dark, often brightly edged badge on the underside of the abdomen.
Read identification guide →Argiope trifasciata
Banded garden spider
Striped orb-weaver found in gardens and low vegetation, often sitting head-down in a round web with banded legs.
Read identification guide →Holconia immanis
Banded huntsman spider
Large grey-brown huntsman from eastern Australia, often recognised by banded legs, a flat body and wall, bark or ceiling habitat.
Read identification guide →Maratus mungaich
Banksia peacock spider
Tiny south-west Western Australian jumping spider, best known for the colourful male fan display and banksia or jarrah woodland habitat.
Read identification guide →Celaenia excavata
Bird-dropping spider
Native Australian Celaenia excavata with a lumpy bird-dropping disguise, folded legs, moth-luring night hunt and distinctive round egg sacs.
Read identification guide →Celaenia excavata
Bird-lime spider
Bird-dropping mimic with a broad triangular, rough-humped abdomen; the female hangs from short silk at night and grabs pheromone-attracted moths.
Read identification guide →Badumna insignis
Black house spider
Dark, sturdy house spider that builds messy lace-like webs around windows, walls, fences and crevices.
Read identification guide →Aname species
Black wishbone spider
Genus-level guide to dark Aname wishbone spiders: mainland Australian burrow dwellers whose deep silk-lined tube may branch into a hidden escape arm.
Read identification guide →Blakistonia aurea
Blakistonia aurea trapdoor spider
The Blakistonia species also called Adelaide trapdoor spider. It is distinct from Idiosoma subtriste, which shares that common name.
Read identification guide →Hadronyche versuta
Blue Mountains funnel-web spider
Medically important NSW Hadronyche associated with rotting-log and stump retreats from the Blue Mountains through the Illawarra; exact identification usually needs an expert.
Read identification guide →Maratus hesperus (Otto & Hill, 2017)
Blue-dot peacock spider
Tiny eastern Australian peacock spider with a dark blue-purple male fan, pale blue margins and a conspicuous white or yellow central spot.
Read identification guide →Maratus personatus
Blue-faced peacock spider
Tiny south-coast Western Australian peacock spider whose adult male wears a deep-blue facial mask and waves his third legs without raising an abdominal fan.
Read identification guide →Ordgarius and related groups
Bolas spider
Unusual orb-weaver relative that catches moths with a sticky silk line rather than a classic web.
Read identification guide →Hadronyche valida
Border Ranges funnel-web spider
A Queensland–New South Wales border-country funnel-web, Hadronyche valida, best treated as a possible species only after specialist review; any plausible funnel-web bite is an emergency.
Read identification guide →Helpis minitabunda
Bronze Aussie jumping spider
A watchful foliage-jumping spider, Helpis minitabunda is best assessed from its Salticidae eyes, slender long legs and adult pattern together—not bronze colour alone.
Read identification guide →Steatoda species
Brown house spider / cupboard spider
Small brown comb-footed spider in messy indoor webs, sometimes confused with redbacks or false widows.
Read identification guide →Heteropoda species
Brown huntsman spider
Common brown huntsman-type spider with a broad flat body, sideways legs and fast wall-running behaviour inside or around homes.
Read identification guide →Latrodectus geometricus
Brown widow spider
Introduced widow spider with a rounded brown patterned body and messy sheltered web, sometimes confused with redbacks.
Read identification guide →Barychelidae
Brush-footed trapdoor spider
Sturdy trapdoor-type spider linked with silk-lined burrows and often confused with other dark ground spiders.
Read identification guide →Steatoda capensis
Cape tangle-web spider
An introduced comb-footed spider, Steatoda capensis, that makes a sticky tangled web in sheltered places and can resemble a redback or another cupboard spider.
Read identification guide →Dolomedes facetus
Clever fishing spider
Medium to large Australian fishing spider found around creeks, streams, freshwater lakes and waterside vegetation.
Read identification guide →Maratus speciosus
Coastal peacock spider
Tiny Western Australian peacock spider from coastal dune vegetation, with males showing an orange-yellow fan fringe during display.
Read identification guide →Parasteatoda tepidariorum
Common house spider
Small variable comb-footed spider with a high rounded abdomen, banded slender legs and a loose three-dimensional cobweb in sheltered household sites.
Read identification guide →Maratus pavonis
Common peacock spider
Tiny southern Australian jumping spider, famous for colourful male courtship displays and active leaf-litter hunting.
Read identification guide →Dipluridae and related groups
Curtain-web spider
Dark mygalomorph spider associated with sheet-like or curtain-like silk retreats in sheltered places.
Read identification guide →Pholcidae
Daddy-long-legs spider
Very thin-legged indoor spider in loose corner webs, common in houses and garages.
Read identification guide →Hadronyche infensa
Darling Downs funnel-web spider
Medically important ground-dwelling Hadronyche from south-eastern Queensland and upper north-eastern NSW; dark funnel-web shape and region can support, but not prove, the exact species.
Read identification guide →Argyrodes antipodianus
Dewdrop spider
Tiny silver-backed comb-footed spider that lives around orb-weaver webs and steals small prey from the host web.
Read identification guide →Cryptachaea veruculata
Diamond comb-footed spider
Tiny patterned comb-footed spider in a small tangled web, often with a pink-mauve egg sac on vegetation or a sheltered structure.
Read identification guide →Cyrtophora moluccensis
Dome tent-web spider
Large tent-web spider that builds a strong, non-sticky dome or bowl-shaped web in warm Australian gardens, parks and open vegetation.
Read identification guide →Missulena bradleyi
Eastern mouse spider
Stocky eastern Australian mouse spider with a very wide shiny head and jaws, short spinnerets and, in mature males, a pale blue-grey abdominal patch.
Read identification guide →Trichonephila edulis
Edible golden orb-weaver
Large golden-orb spider of inland and southern Australia, with a long silvery to plum abdomen, banded dark legs and a strong golden web.
Read identification guide →Oxyopes elegans
Elegant lynx spider
Slender, spiny-legged Australian lynx spider with striped body, sharp vision and a foliage-hunting lifestyle in grass and shrubs.
Read identification guide →Plebs bradleyi
Enamelled spider / Bradley’s grass orb-weaver
A colourful Australian orb-weaver whose large rounded abdomen can look painted with glossy green, cream, yellow, orange or brown enamel-like panels.
Read identification guide →Dolomedes species
Fishing spider
Large long-legged spider often found near water, capable of moving across the water surface.
Read identification guide →Trochanteriidae
Flat rock spider
A family-level guide to extremely flattened Hemicloea-type ground spiders that shelter beneath bark or rock and are easily confused with huntsmans and newly separated trachycosmids.
Read identification guide →Hemicloea rogenhoferi and related Hemicloea species
Flattened bark spider
Very flat brown to grey spider adapted for squeezing under loose bark, rocks and narrow crevices.
Read identification guide →Thomisidae
Flower spider / crab spider
Small spider with crab-like sideways legs, often waiting on flowers or foliage.
Read identification guide →Maratus volans
Flying peacock spider
Tiny eastern Australian peacock spider whose male opens a red, blue and black, white-fringed abdominal fan during courtship.
Read identification guide →Phryganoporus candidus
Foliage-webbing social spider
A small, low-risk Australian web builder, Phryganoporus candidus, whose young share conspicuous leaf-bound nests before the species returns to mainly solitary lives.
Read identification guide →Portia fimbriata
Fringed jumping spider
Cryptic spider-eating jumping spider from tropical northern Australia, with fringed hairs, web-building retreats and unusually strategic hunting behaviour.
Read identification guide →Opisthoncus parcedentatus
Garden jumping spider
Small active jumping spider, usually brown, cream or patterned, often seen on garden plants, walls, fences and windows.
Read identification guide →Eriophora and related groups
Garden orb-weaver
Round-bodied spider that builds classic circular orb webs in gardens, especially at night.
Read identification guide →Tasmanicosa godeffroyi
Garden wolf spider
Robust, strongly patterned Australian wolf spider found in gardens, woodland and heath, with a grey-brown-and-white body and dark underside.
Read identification guide →Servaea incana
Giant bark jumping spider
A medium-sized, highly variable Australian jumping spider that uses bark, foliage and other surfaces rather than a prey-catching web.
Read identification guide →Megadolomedes australianus
Giant water spider
A large NSW water-edge hunter. Current Megadolomedes australianus is distinct from the Queensland spider now called M. trux.
Read identification guide →Beregama aurea
Golden huntsman spider
One of Australia’s largest huntsmans: a robust golden-to-brown bark hunter recorded in Queensland and New South Wales, but difficult to separate from close relatives by colour alone.
Read identification guide →Trichonephila species
Golden orb-weaver
Large web-building spider with golden silk and long legs, often in warm Australian gardens and bushland.
Read identification guide →Astia maculata
Golden-tail jumper
Small eastern Australian jumping spider currently accepted by the World Spider Catalog as Astia maculata, with the former Astia hariola name still common in Australian records and golden rear markings in clearer specimens.
Read identification guide →Jotus auripes
Golden-thighed brushed jumping spider
Small eastern Australian jumping spider with golden-orange front-leg brushes, white side markings and active foliage or wall-hunting behaviour.
Read identification guide →Thomisidae species (legacy Diaea label)
Green crab spider
Small green or green-brown flower spider with sideways crab-like front legs, usually waiting on leaves, flowers or garden plants rather than building a capture web.
Read identification guide →Typostola barbata
Green huntsman spider
Australian green-bellied huntsman with a fawn body, green at the leg joints, paired black abdominal dots and an orange hair patch above the fangs.
Read identification guide →Mopsus mormon
Green jumping spider
Large bright-green Australian jumping spider with dominant forward-facing eyes, an elongated tapering abdomen and strongly different adult male and female face patterns.
Read identification guide →Amyciaea albomaculata
Green tree ant-mimicking spider
An ant-mimicking crab spider associated with green tree ants. Its disguise and prey differ from those of ordinary flower spiders.
Read identification guide →Badumna longinqua
Grey house spider
A brown-grey Badumna spider with banded legs that lives in a fuzzy lace web with a funnel-like retreat on bark, foliage or a building.
Read identification guide →Isopeda species
Grey huntsman spider
Conservative genus-level guide to a possible Isopeda: a flat grey-brown huntsman with sideways legs, usually associated with bark, rock crevices or sheltered vertical surfaces.
Read identification guide →Portacosa cinerea
Grey wolf spider
Large, uniformly grey wolf spider whose compacted-ground retreat may have a distinctive circular plug-like trapdoor that is sometimes left open while the spider hunts.
Read identification guide →Philoponella congregabilis
Hackled orb-weaver
Small humped Australian hackled orb-weaver often found in communal, messy-looking webs around foliage, shrubs and sheltered house edges.
Read identification guide →Maratus harrisi
Harris’s peacock spider / eastern peacock spider
Tiny south-eastern Australian peacock spider whose adult male has two ivory abdominal patches, iridescent blue-purple scales and greenish folding display flaps.
Read identification guide →Hedana species
Hedana green crab spiders
Small foliage-dwelling crab spiders in the genus Hedana. Green colour alone cannot separate them from other Australian thomisids.
Read identification guide →Backobourkia heroine
Heroic orb-weaver / lichen spider
A mottled Australian orb-weaver in the genus Backobourkia, with a robust patterned body, smaller night orb webs and a cautious lichen-spider common-name trail.
Read identification guide →Trichonephila plumipes
Humped golden orb-weaving spider
Large eastern Australian golden orb-weaver with a silvery to plum body, yellow-banded legs and a strong golden orb web.
Read identification guide →Sparassidae
Huntsman spider
Large, flat, long-legged spider often seen on walls, ceilings, tree bark and inside cars.
Read identification guide →Illawarra wisharti
Illawarra funnel-web spider
Rare, range-restricted NSW funnel-web and the sole species in genus Illawarra, associated with wet Illawarra forest and concealed litter-opening retreats; any suspected bite is an emergency.
Read identification guide →Desis species
Intertidal marine spider
Unusual coastal spider that lives among intertidal rocks and reefs, sealing itself inside a silk air chamber when the tide covers its retreat.
Read identification guide →Idioctis species
Intertidal trapdoor spiders
Coastal Idioctis trapdoor spiders occupy retreats in the tidal zone. A shore location is essential to this comparison.
Read identification guide →Austracantha minax
Jewel spider
Small hard-bodied orb-weaver with bright jewel-like colours and spiny projections.
Read identification guide →Apricia jovialis (L. Koch, 1879)
Jovial jumping spider
Medium-sized Australian jumping spider with a low profile, strong first legs and variable dark abdomen marked by yellow bands or patches.
Read identification guide →Salticidae
Jumping spider
Australian Salticidae family page for tiny visual hunters with large forward eyes, short jumps and silk safety lines rather than capture webs.
Read identification guide →Heteropoda jugulans
Jungle huntsman spider
Large mottled Queensland huntsman with dark carapace and abdominal markings, active at night on bark, foliage and buildings; exact identification often needs adult anatomy.
Read identification guide →Hortophora biapicata
Knobbled garden orb-weaver
Heavy-bodied Australian garden orb-weaver with a triangular abdomen, two humps, red leg bases and a large round web built at dusk.
Read identification guide →Stephanopis altifrons
Knobbly crab spider
Camouflaged Australian bark crab spider with a knobbly brown-black body, often sitting still on bark, leaves or a folded-leaf retreat.
Read identification guide →Plesiothele fentoni
Lake Fenton trapdoor spider
A small Tasmanian mygalomorph with a patterned yellow-brown abdomen and a lidless silk-lined retreat in mossy habitat.
Read identification guide →Phonognatha species
Leaf-curling spider
Orb-weaver that hides in a curled leaf suspended in its web.
Read identification guide →Pandercetes gracilis
Lichen huntsman spider
A small, exceptionally camouflaged north Queensland huntsman that rests exposed on lichen-covered rainforest trunks and can accelerate sideways in an instant.
Read identification guide →Miturga species
Lined spiders
Miturga are prowling hunters that can resemble wolf spiders. Some build dense silk retreats in low vegetation or beneath logs.
Read identification guide →Venatrix furcillata
Little striped wolf spider
Black-brown Australian wolf spider with cream striping, ground-running hunting behaviour and a simple burrow entrance.
Read identification guide →Tetragnathidae
Long-jawed orb-weaver
Extremely slender orb-weaver with an elongated body, long legs and jaws, usually associated with a small horizontal or steeply sloping web in vegetation.
Read identification guide →Gnaphosidae
Long-spinneret ground spider
Family-level guide to Australian gnaphosid ground spiders: fast hunters with paired cylindrical rear spinnerets, usually found in litter or under bark and stones.
Read identification guide →Oxyopidae
Lynx spider
Long-spined, sharp-eyed foliage hunter that stalks insects on grasses, shrubs and garden plants instead of building a prey-catching web.
Read identification guide →Ordgarius magnificus
Magnificent spider
Odd-looking bolas spider with a lumpy colourful body, often camouflaged on foliage during the day.
Read identification guide →Stanwellia grisea
Melbourne trapdoor spider
Robust southern Victorian burrow spider with a mottled rib-like abdomen; despite its common name, its silk-lined burrow has no trapdoor lid.
Read identification guide →Thwaitesia species
Mirror spider
Conservative genus-level guide to tiny Australian Thwaitesia comb-footed spiders with a high abdomen carrying silver, cream and coloured mosaic-like patches.
Read identification guide →Missulena species
Mouse spider
Stocky ground spider; males may have a red head or pale patch depending on species, and can be confused with funnel-webs.
Read identification guide →Hadronyche nadgee Whitington & Harris, 2021
Nadgee funnel-web spider
Rare far-south-coast NSW funnel-web distinguished by an unusual single row of cheliceral teeth that cannot be checked safely on a live spider.
Read identification guide →Maratus nemo
Nemo peacock spider
Tiny South Australian peacock spider with a bright orange-and-white face, wetland habitat clue and jumping-spider movement.
Read identification guide →Deinopidae
Net-casting spider
Long-legged spider with large eyes that holds a small net of silk to catch prey at night.
Read identification guide →Atrax christenseni
Newcastle funnel-web spider
A range-restricted Atrax funnel-web from around Newcastle, New South Wales; treat any plausible funnel-web encounter or bite as an emergency rather than trying to name it from a photo.
Read identification guide →Zosis geniculata
Ninja-star ceiling spider
Small grey, white and brown hackled orb-weaver with banded legs, a humped female abdomen and distinctive pink star-shaped egg sacs in sheltered webs.
Read identification guide →Missulena pruinosa
Northern mouse spider
Stocky tropical northern mouse spider; an adult male may have a broad cream to bluish-white abdomen, while females are dark and remain near their burrows.
Read identification guide →Hadronyche formidabilis
Northern tree funnel-web spider
Australia’s largest known funnel-web: a medically important wet-forest tree specialist from the Hunter region north into south-eastern Queensland.
Read identification guide →Aname species
Northern wishbone spider
Conservative genus-level guide to northern Australian Aname wishbone spiders: stocky burrowing mygalomorphs with silk-lined open retreats, often noticed when mature males wander after rain.
Read identification guide →Troglodiplura lowryi
Nullarbor cave trapdoor spider
A rare blind cave spider from the Western Australian Nullarbor. A permanently dark cave habitat is required for this possibility.
Read identification guide →Pisauridae
Nursery web spider
Long-legged hunting spider where females may guard a silk nursery for spiderlings.
Read identification guide →Nyssus coloripes
Orange-legged swift spider
Fast black-and-white Australian swift spider with yellow to orange front legs, wasp-like markings and a distinctive stop-start run across ground and foliage.
Read identification guide →Maratus bubo
Owl peacock spider
Tiny Western Australian peacock spider whose male fan resembles a rough horned-owl sketch when it is raised during courtship.
Read identification guide →Argiope picta
Painted cross spider
Colourful northern Australian orb-weaver with paired legs, yellow-white abdominal patterning and a white silk stabilimentum in the web.
Read identification guide →Prostheclina pallida
Pale eastern jumping spider
Small pale or patterned jumping spider from wetter eastern and south-eastern Australia, associated with vegetation and leaf litter rather than a capture web.
Read identification guide →Philoponella pantherina
Panther hackled orb-weaver
Tiny mottled hackled orb-weaver with a humped outline, found in fine dry-silk webs under verandahs, rock overhangs and sheltered foliage.
Read identification guide →Maratus species
Peacock spider
An Australian group of 2–6 mm jumping spiders: mature males may have brilliant display scales and ornaments, while females and juveniles are usually cryptic.
Read identification guide →Artoria linnaei
Perth forest wolf spider
Small south-west Western Australian wolf spider common in moist low vegetation, suburban parks, reserves and gardens around Perth.
Read identification guide →Australomisidia pilula
Pill flower spider
A small Australian flower crab spider, `Australomisidia pilula`, often described as lozenge-shaped; use its low foliage hunting context and crab-spider form together, not colour alone.
Read identification guide →Tharrhalea evanida
Pink flower spider / green crab spider
Small green, yellow or pinkish crab spider that waits on flowers and foliage with front legs held sideways.
Read identification guide →Australomimetus species
Pirate spiders
Small spider-hunting mimetids that may enter another spider’s web. Rows of distinctive leg spines are a useful close-up clue.
Read identification guide →Poecilipta species
Poecilipta ant-mimicking spiders
Tiny, fast ground-running ant mimics with slender legs. Poecilipta belongs to Corinnidae, not the jumping-spider ant mimics.
Read identification guide →Hadronyche macquariensis
Port Macquarie funnel-web spider
Medically important ground-dwelling Hadronyche from mid-north-eastern New South Wales; broad funnel-web structure, a soil retreat and range can support, but not prove, the exact species.
Read identification guide →Miturgidae
Prowling spider
Family-level guide to Australian Miturgidae: fast ground hunters that shelter in silk cells but do not use a prey-catching web.
Read identification guide →Maratus rainbowi
Rainbow peacock spider
An extremely small Australian peacock spider with a bright adult-male courtship fan; current catalogues use Maratus rainbowi while much literature uses Maratus splendens.
Read identification guide →Nicodamus peregrinus and similar species
Red and black spider
Red-bodied and black-abdomen spider often found under bark, logs or in leaf litter.
Read identification guide →Nesticodes rufipes
Red house spider
Small reddish-brown comb-footed spider found in messy indoor or sheltered webs, often confused with young redbacks or cupboard spiders.
Read identification guide →Missulena occatoria
Red-headed mouse spider
Stocky mouse spider where males may show a reddish head or jaws, often found wandering on open ground.
Read identification guide →Sidymella rubrosignata
Red-tipped square-ended crab spider
Small green crab spider found on Australian foliage, especially Dianella, with long front legs and red-tipped abdominal humps.
Read identification guide →Latrodectus hasselti
Redback spider
Small black spider, usually female, with a red stripe or hourglass marking and a messy web in dry sheltered places.
Read identification guide →Arbanitis robertsi
Roberts tube spider
The NSW tube-building mygalomorph formerly called Misgolas robertsi. It is unrelated to the Ariadna tube-web spiders.
Read identification guide →Asianopis subrufa
Rufous net-casting spider
Slender, long-legged eastern Australian net-casting spider with huge forward-facing eyes and a small handheld silk net used at night.
Read identification guide →Philodromidae
Running crab spider
A running crab spider is a fast, non-web-hunting member of Philodromidae; confirm the family cautiously, because many Australian spiders run on bark, foliage and walls.
Read identification guide →Arachnura higginsi
Scorpion-tailed spider
Distinctive endemic Australian orb-weaver whose female has a soft, flexible tail-like abdomen and sits in a sloping incomplete orb web.
Read identification guide →Cosmophasis thalassina
Sea-green northern jumper
Tiny metallic green, turquoise, black and white jumping spider from warm Queensland gardens, rainforest edges and leafy vegetation.
Read identification guide →Clynotis severus
Severe jumping spider
A medium-sized Australian jumping spider, often dark, brown, grey or black-and-white, with a stern-looking lined face, fluffy palps and an active bark, foliage or litter lifestyle.
Read identification guide →Idiosoma nigrum
Shieldbacked trapdoor spider
A Western Australian trapdoor spider with a hardened abdominal shield. The revised Idiosoma nigrum species must be separated from its close relatives.
Read identification guide →Metepeira species
Signal-line spider
Australian field identification for a small retreat-dwelling orb-weaver whose incomplete orb is linked by a fine signal thread to a tangled plant retreat; the web is more reliable than a genus guess.
Read identification guide →Leucauge and related groups
Silver orb-weaver
Slender orb-weaver with silvery body markings, often found in small webs among vegetation.
Read identification guide →Anzacia gemmea
Silvery vagabond spider
Anzacia gemmea is a ground spider recorded from New Zealand and Phillip Island near Norfolk Island; it is not a confirmed mainland-wide species.
Read identification guide →Dysdera crocata
Slater-eating spider / woodlouse hunter
Reddish spider with long forward-pointing jaws and a pale grey to yellow-brown abdomen, often found in damp sheltered places.
Read identification guide →Tmarus species
Slender crab spider
A cautious genus-level guide to slender, twig-like Australian Tmarus crab spiders: laterigrade front legs, vegetation ambush and no prey-catching web.
Read identification guide →Delena cancerides
Social huntsman spider
A very flat red-brown and grey-brown huntsman with dark leg tips, adapted to tight bark retreats and sometimes living in persistent groups.
Read identification guide →Stiphidion facetum
Sombrero spider / sheetweb spider
Brown, long-legged sheetweb spider from eastern and southern Australia, best recognised by its broad sheet web with a raised funnel-like centre.
Read identification guide →Salsa fuliginata
Sooty orb-weaver
Small brown to dark Australian orb-weaver with sooty patterning, a round night web and a garden or shrubland habitat clue.
Read identification guide →Atrax montanus
Southern Sydney funnel-web spider
A medically urgent New South Wales funnel-web, Atrax montanus: glossy, dark and ground-burrowing, but not safely separable from the Sydney funnel-web by an ordinary photo.
Read identification guide →Hadronyche cerberea
Southern tree funnel-web spider
Medically important tree-dwelling funnel-web from eastern New South Wales, identified most usefully by funnel-web anatomy, range and a silk retreat in rough-barked timber.
Read identification guide →Cosmophasis micarioides
Sparkling northern jumping spider
Small iridescent jumping spider from northern Australia, often blue, silver, black or bronze, seen on plants and sunny walls.
Read identification guide →Austracantha minax
Spiny spider
Small Austracantha minax orb-weaver with a hard shield-like abdomen, six projections and bright patterning in low vegetation.
Read identification guide →Scytodes species
Spitting spider
Small six-eyed Scytodes hunter with a high domed carapace, slender legs and a short-range sticky-silk attack instead of a capture web.
Read identification guide →Storena species
Spotted ground spider
Australian ant-eating ground spider with a dark, sparsely haired body, paired pale-to-orange abdominal spots and no prey-catching web; photographs usually support only a cautious Storena-level match.
Read identification guide →Aganippe species
Spotted trapdoor spider
Stocky southern Australian trapdoor spider with a strongly arched carapace and pale hairless abdominal spots, usually linked with a concealed soil burrow.
Read identification guide →Simaetha thoracica
Squat bark jumping spider
Small blocky Australian jumping spider with golden scales, a compact abdomen and dark rear abdominal circles that can fade with wear.
Read identification guide →Argiope species
St Andrew’s cross spider
Colourful orb-weaver often sitting in an X shape in a web with zig-zag silk bands.
Read identification guide →Clubiona robusta
Stout sac spider
A small Clubiona hunter associated with bark and silk retreats. Its resting sac is shelter, rather than a prey-catching web.
Read identification guide →Sandalodes superbus
Superb jumping spider
Large, sturdy Australian jumping spider with a robust body, strong front legs and bold stop-start hunting movements on bark, walls or foliage.
Read identification guide →Gnaphosidae (ground spiders)
Swift ground spider
A fast ground hunter with no capture web, usually recognised by two separated cylindrical spinnerets and angular rear middle eyes.
Read identification guide →Arbanitis villosus / Arbanitis sp.
Sydney brown trapdoor spider
Brown NSW trapdoor spider with a dusty-looking body, pale abdominal bars and open burrows, often confused with funnel-webs.
Read identification guide →Atrax robustus group
Sydney funnel-web spider
Glossy, robust, dark NSW spider associated with silk-lined burrows around the Sydney region and nearby eastern NSW.
Read identification guide →Hickmania troglodytes
Tasmanian cave spider
Large long-legged Tasmanian spider found in caves and other cool, damp dark retreats, often with a broad sheet web.
Read identification guide →Hadronyche venenata
Tasmanian funnel-web spider
A Tasmanian Hadronyche funnel-web that needs specialist examination for a species name; treat a plausible funnel-web bite as an emergency.
Read identification guide →Maratus tasmanicus
Tasmanian peacock spider
Tiny Australian peacock jumping spider with colourful male markings, large forward-facing eyes and a Tasmania or Victoria location clue.
Read identification guide →Argiope protensa
Teardrop spider
A slender orb-weaver with a tapering abdomen, also called the tailed grass spider. Compare the tail, paired-leg posture and complete web.
Read identification guide →Cyrtophora species
Tent-web spider
Web-building spider with a tent-like or dome-like web rather than a simple flat orb.
Read identification guide →Cyclosa trilobata
Three-lobed spider
Small dark orb-weaver with three blunt rear abdominal projections, banded legs and a debris-decorated web among low vegetation.
Read identification guide →Mygalomorph groups
Trapdoor spider
Stocky ground spider associated with burrows, often mistaken for funnel-webs when wandering.
Read identification guide →Sidymella trapezia
Trapezoid crab spider / trapezium crab spider
Small pale square-ended crab spider of eastern Australian foliage, with long front legs and a trapezium-shaped abdomen.
Read identification guide →Arkys species
Triangular spider
Small Australian Arkys ambush spider with an angular abdomen, enlarged spined front legs and no prey-catching web.
Read identification guide →Argiope aetherea
Tropical St Andrew’s cross spider
Large colourful Argiope orb-weaver from northern and eastern Australia, usually seen in a round web with paired legs aligned over a white silk cross.
Read identification guide →Ariadna and related segestriid spiders
Tube-dwelling spider
Small Australian tube-web hunter with a circular silk retreat, radiating signal lines, six eyes and the first three leg pairs directed forward.
Read identification guide →Poecilopachys australasia
Two-spined spider
Distinctive eastern Australian orb-weaver whose adult female has a rounded enamel-like abdomen, vivid red-yellow-green-black pattern and two large white rear spines; males and juveniles look very different.
Read identification guide →Hersiliidae
Two-tailed spider
Flat, bark-camouflaged hunter with two extremely long rear spinnerets, sprawling legs and rapid movement across Australian tree trunks.
Read identification guide →Hadronyche modesta
Victorian funnel-web spider
Dark Victorian funnel-web spider from silk-lined burrows, with trip-line silk and a defensive rearing posture when threatened.
Read identification guide →Isopedella victorialis
Victorian huntsman spider
A Victorian huntsman with a flattened body, sideways-set legs and dark grey-brown patterning, best treated as a likely rather than certain species match from ordinary photographs.
Read identification guide →Oecobius navus
Wall spider / baseboard spider
A 2–4 mm flattened wall spider with banded legs and a small flat, star-like web on walls, ceilings, skirting boards and sheltered surfaces.
Read identification guide →Ariamnes species
Whip spider
Thread-thin Ariamnes comb-footed spider that masquerades as a twig on a few silk lines and captures other spiders with thrown sticky silk.
Read identification guide →Thomisus spectabilis
White flower spider / spectacular crab spider
White-to-yellow flower ambush spider with a broad angular abdomen and enlarged front legs, often waiting motionless for pollinating insects.
Read identification guide →Cryptachaea gigantipes
White porch spider
Pale comb-footed spider with extremely long front legs, often found in a visible tangle web under eaves, porches and sheltered house edges.
Read identification guide →Maratus griseus
White-banded house jumping spider
Small brown and grey house-hopper jumping spider, often seen on walls, fences, bark, foliage and around Australian homes.
Read identification guide →Lampona species
White-tailed spider
Dark, cigar-shaped wandering spider with a pale spot at the tip of the abdomen, often seen indoors at night.
Read identification guide →Anamidae and related mygalomorphs
Wishbone spider
Dark burrow-associated mygalomorph often mistaken for a funnel-web or trapdoor spider.
Read identification guide →Lycosidae
Wolf spider
Fast ground-running hunter, often mottled brown or grey, sometimes carrying an egg sac or spiderlings.
Read identification guide →Dolophones species
Wrap-around spider
Camouflaged Dolophones orb-weavers that flatten around twigs or bark by day and build orb webs at night.
Read identification guide →Poltys laciniosus
Wrapped-up twig spider
Cryptically camouflaged Australian orb-weaver that folds its legs around a raised body and can look like a broken twig, gall or bark fragment by day.
Read identification guide →Cheiracanthium species
Yellow sac spider
Pale yellow or straw-coloured wandering spider that makes small silk retreats.
Read identification guide →Zygometis xanthogaster
Yellow-tailed crab spider
A variable pale crab spider also called the milky flower spider. Females and much smaller males can look quite different.
Read identification guide →