Australian Tarantula Identification Guide

About the Australian tarantula / whistling spider

Australian tarantulas, often called whistling or barking spiders, are large burrow-dwelling spiders most relevant in northern and inland areas. Their heavy hairy build and deep burrow setting are more useful starting clues than size alone, but photos can overlap with other mygalomorphs. Do not handle a large burrowing spider; seek prompt medical advice for concerning symptoms after any bite, and use urgent advice if a funnel-web or mouse spider cannot be ruled out.

How to identify an Australian tarantula without forcing a species name

Australian tarantula or whistling spider is a useful field label for large Australian theraphosids, especially Selenocosmia and related genera. It is not a promise that a photograph shows one named species. Start with the whole setting: a very large, densely hairy mygalomorph with thick legs, a heavy body and a silk-lined burrow or sheltered ground retreat. The Australian Museum gives a broad described-tarantula body range of roughly 2–11 cm and leg spans up to about 20 cm, but size is only a starting point because sex, age, posture and camera distance change the impression. A likely match has a robust carapace, powerful forward fangs and a low, ground-dwelling stance; it will not have the long, flattened body and lateral leg spread of a huntsman. The label whistling or barking spider comes from a defensive sound made by stridulation, not from a visible marking. Keep an image at Theraphosidae or Selenocosmia group level unless an expert has the locality, sex, mature structures and taxonomic evidence needed for a species call. Current catalogues recognise several Australian theraphosid lineages, and older hobby literature may use Phlogius names for spiders now treated under Selenocosmia. Never copy a popular species name from a similar photograph.

Clues that are not enough on their own

• A hand-sized silhouette used as a measurement when perspective, leg span and distance are unknown
• Any large hairy brown spider called a tarantula without checking mygalomorph body form and burrow context
• A burrow opening assumed to belong to the spider photographed nearby, because trapdoor spiders, funnel-webs and rodents can use similar ground holes
• The word whistling treated as proof of Selenocosmia when several Australian theraphosids can produce defensive sounds
• A hobby-trade name such as Phlogius copied as a current genus without checking World Spider Catalog treatment
• One state or town used to select a species even though Australian tarantula ranges and records overlap
• A threat pose interpreted as aggression or used to provoke a sound; the animal may simply be stressed
• A dark, glossy body treated as proof of a funnel-web, or a pale hairy body treated as proof of a tarantula
• A phone photograph used to infer sex, maturity or diagnostic palpal and spinneret characters that are not resolved

Colour, sex and life-stage variation

Sex and age are major sources of visual variation. Mature females are usually the heavier, longer-lived burrow occupants and may continue moulting after maturity. A mature male is often slimmer, more mobile and easier to encounter away from a burrow while searching for a mate; enlarged palps are the important adult-male clue, but they are rarely clear in a casual image. Juveniles can be much smaller, paler or more contrasting and should not be matched to an adult colour plate. Soil, clay, leaf litter and flash alter brown, black, chestnut and grey impressions. A freshly moulted spider can look clean and glossy, while an older individual carries dust and worn hairs. The broad family label also contains genuine taxonomic diversity: Selenocosmia is one of four described Australian genera in the subfamily Selenocosmiinae, alongside Selenotholus, Selenotypus and Coremiocnemis. The local record therefore uses “Selenocosmia and related theraphosids” rather than pretending every Australian tarantula is one species. Avoid using leg span to separate candidates unless the body length and camera scale are documented.

Behaviour, web and retreat

A silk-lined burrow is the most useful ecological clue, but the opening alone is not diagnostic. Australian Museum accounts describe burrows that can be roughly 40–100 cm deep, with depth varying independently of the occupant’s size; burrows may be plugged during colder periods or extreme summer heat. Activity and feeding increase in warmer months, and the spider may wait at the entrance or leave briefly at night to take insects and other small prey. Some Australian tarantulas can take small frogs or reptiles, but that does not make “bird-eating spider” a reliable field identification. When disturbed, a whistling spider may raise the front legs, expose the fangs and rub modified spines on the palps against opposing spines at the jaw bases to produce a hiss or whirr. Treat the sound as a warning and step away; do not tap the burrow, shine a torch into it repeatedly or try to make the spider perform. The burrow, silk at the rim, cast skin and nearby soil can be documented without excavation. A large mygalomorph found wandering after rain may have left its refuge, but the absence of a burrow in the frame does not rule out this group.

Australian distribution

The genus Selenocosmia is recorded from Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia, while Selenocosmia stirlingi reaches north-western Victoria in the Australian Museum summary. The described Australian tarantula fauna also includes other genera, and a Northern Territory tarantula population has been reported from a floodplain. The Australian Museum notes that Selenocosmia is not found in the northern tropics in the broad sense used for its genus summary, so “northern Australia” should not be treated as a universal range statement. The profile keeps Queensland, Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and New South Wales as discovery filters because related theraphosids and historical records occur across those regions, but a state filter cannot separate Selenocosmia, Selenotypus, Selenotholus, Coremiocnemis, funnel-webs or trapdoor spiders. Exact localities for rare or newly studied populations should be shared with a museum or biodiversity portal rather than broadcast in a public post. Use current AFD and WSC records when older labels, pet-trade names or a broad “bird-eating spider” caption conflict.

What to do if you find one

Do not handle, corner, dig up or relocate a large hairy burrowing spider. Keep children and pets back, close the door or block access to the immediate area, and photograph from a safe distance with the whole animal, burrow rim and surrounding ground in separate frames. Never put a hand beside it for scale, lift a rock to expose the animal or insert a stick into the burrow. If a spider is in a building, contact a local wildlife or pest professional who can work safely; do not attempt capture with bare hands. Australian tarantula bites can be painful and may cause significant local or systemic symptoms even though they are not usually regarded as the same emergency pathway as a funnel-web bite. For a suspected bite, stop handling, wash the site and seek prompt medical advice. Call 000 for breathing difficulty, collapse or severe allergic symptoms, and use the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 for advice. If the spider could instead be a funnel-web or mouse spider, treat that uncertainty seriously and follow current Australian urgent bite guidance rather than relying on the common name.

Compare with similar spiders

Use body shape, web or retreat, location and behaviour together before settling on a likely match.

• Trapdoor spider — Australian funnel-web spider - also a large dark mygalomorph with a burrow and strong fangs, especially in eastern Australia. A phone photo cannot safely separate it from a tarantula; funnel-web uncertainty requires urgent bite caution and no handling.
• Mouse spider — Mouse spider - Missulena species can be chunky, dark and burrow-associated, but the body hair, burrow architecture and adult structures differ. Do not use a red head or black abdomen alone to choose between them.
• Australian funnel-web spiders — Trapdoor spider - many trapdoor species occupy silk-lined soil burrows and may be robust, but a hinged door, wafer collar or different leg and abdomen proportions can point elsewhere. Never excavate to check.
• Brush-footed trapdoor spider — Huntsman spider - often large and hairy but has a flatter body and strongly laterigrade legs, usually on bark, walls or ceilings rather than deep ground burrows. Size and hair alone are not enough.

Sources for this profile

These accessible authoritative sources support the identification and bite-safety context on this page.

• Australian Museum: Australian tarantulas
• Australian Museum: Spider facts and whistling spiders
• Australian Museum: The hairy spider and stridulation
• World Spider Catalog: Selenocosmia species list
• Australian Faunal Directory: Theraphosidae
• Atlas of Living Australia: Selenocosmia
• Australian Museum: Tarantulas and their reputation
• Australian Museum: Whistling spider field guide
• Australian Museum: Funnel-web spiders group
• Australian Museum: Trapdoor spiders group
• healthdirect: Spider bites

Profile review

Published by Spider Identifier Australia. Last factual review: 14 August 2026.