Brush-Footed Trapdoor Spider Identification

About the Brush-footed trapdoor spider

Brush-footed trapdoor spiders are a mygalomorph group people may find while digging, gardening or moving logs. A stocky brown-to-dark body beside a soil burrow or silk-lined retreat is a more useful starting combination than colour alone. Keep the spider and its retreat undisturbed: a single photo often cannot separate it confidently from other trapdoor, mouse or funnel-web-type spiders, so a possible medically significant bite needs prompt medical advice.

How to identify a brush-footed trapdoor spider without overcalling a species

Brush-footed trapdoor spider is the practical Australian common name for members of the family Barychelidae, not one species. A useful first combination is a mygalomorph body, a burrow or silk-lined retreat, two short spinnerets at the rear of the abdomen and dense hair or brush-like setae on the legs and feet. Barychelids may be small or large, brown, grey or black, and some show silver or red on the head or underside. Several Australian genera are possible, including Idiommata, Sason, Synothele, Trittame, Seqocrypta and other forms that need specialist examination. The hairy feet can let some species climb smooth glass, but that is a family clue rather than a safe handling test. Photograph the whole spider from a distance, the rear spinnerets, the retreat entrance and the surrounding habitat. A single dark, stocky spider on a patio is not enough for a genus or species name.

Clues that are not enough on their own

• Brown, black or silver colour by itself, because soil, flash, age and moult change the appearance
• A round hole assumed to be a Barychelidae burrow without seeing the spider or its silk door
• A spider climbing glass, because the test risks a bite and other mygalomorphs can also climb
• A large body or coin comparison that includes legs, perspective or a curved camera angle
• A Queensland, New South Wales or Western Australia locality treated as a species identification
• Short spinnerets assumed to be unique when several trapdoor families share that broad feature
• A social-media label such as Idiommata or Seqocrypta without a documented locality and diagnostic view
• A preserved museum specimen used as a live colour or posture template

Colour, sex and life-stage variation

Barychelidae includes a wide range of body sizes and forms. Australian field material may be only about 10 mm long or may exceed 30 mm in body length, while the apparent size in a photograph changes with sex, maturity, lens distance and whether the legs are included. Adult males are commonly slimmer and more mobile, with enlarged palps, and may wander during humid weather to find females. Females and juveniles are often heavier-bodied and remain close to a retreat. The head can be brown or dark, the abdomen mottled, black, hairy or partly silver, and males in some Idiommata are known as silverbacks. Freshly moulted, wet, dusty or faded spiders can look unlike a dry adult. Treat colour names and common-name photos as examples, not a diagnostic key.

Behaviour, web and retreat

Most Australian barychelids are terrestrial burrowers that wait behind a silk-lined trapdoor and ambush crickets, beetles and other ground-active invertebrates. Some build two doors, tree burrows or retreats in banks, leaf litter and forest floor; tropical species can occupy wet creek margins, mangroves or intertidal situations and may plug a nest during flooding. Fine silk or trip lines can carry vibrations to a hidden spider. The family is also notable for dense leg hairs that help some species grip smooth surfaces, and a few species have stridulatory structures. These are natural-history clues, not behaviours to provoke. Do not tap a door, pour water into a burrow, lift a log or put a spider on glass for a photograph. Leave an occupied retreat intact; the spider is a long-lived predator and disturbance can destroy its shelter.

Australian distribution

Barychelids occur across tropical and warm regions worldwide, with a strong Australian and western-Pacific representation. Australian records span rainforest, dry woodland and arid country, and individual genera or species can be highly localised. Queensland and northern New South Wales include rainforest, creek-bank and tree-retreat forms; southern and western records include dry-ground burrowers and silverback Idiommata forms. The family name therefore supports a broad regional identification but not a state-level species call. Use the exact locality, substrate, retreat type, season and a clear rear view of the spider when requesting expert review. Atlas records and online observations reflect collecting and upload effort and are not abundance maps. Do not publish a precise household coordinate for a rare or local population.

What to do if you find one

Keep people and pets away and leave the spider, lid and surrounding soil alone. Wear gloves and closed shoes while gardening, moving rocks or handling firewood, but do not put fingers into a burrow or dismantle a tree retreat. If the spider must be moved from a busy path, a licensed pest or wildlife professional is safer than bare-handed capture. For identification, use zoom from a safe distance and record the habitat, body length without legs, whole-body silhouette, rear spinnerets and any trapdoor or trip lines. Barychelid bites are not generally associated with the severe reputation of funnel-webs, but an unknown Australian mygalomorph should never be handled. If a bite causes severe or spreading pain, breathing trouble, collapse, or an unusual reaction, call 000; follow current Australian first-aid and poisons advice rather than waiting for a name.

Compare with similar spiders

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

• Trapdoor spider — Trapdoor spider (Idiopidae and other families): a broad trapdoor result is safer when a stout burrow spider fits but the brush-like feet, short spinnerets and family characters are not visible. The common name covers several unrelated mygalomorph groups.
• Mouse spider — Mouse spider (Missulena, Actinopodidae): often has a bulbous head, strong jaws and short spinnerets, and some males show bright red or blue colour. It can be medically significant, so do not approach a dark spider to check the difference.
• Australian funnel-web spiders — Australian funnel-web spiders (Atracidae): glossy dark carapace, silk trip lines and a compact mygalomorph build can overlap in photographs. A suspected funnel-web bite receives urgent pressure-immobilisation first aid while identity is uncertain.
• Australian tarantula / whistling spider — Australian tarantula or whistling spider (Theraphosidae): generally larger and hairier, with a different family history, but a brown ground spider or museum specimen can be misleading. Do not identify a tarantula from size or hair alone.

Sources for this profile

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

• Australian Faunal Directory: Barychelidae
• Australian Faunal Directory: Barychelidae checklist
• NSW Environment: Spiders in Sydney
• Lucid Central: Barychelidae key
• Survival.org.au: Brush-footed trapdoor spider
• Fauna Portal: Barychelidae
• Australian Museum: Trapdoor spiders
• Australian Museum: Barychelid fossil
• healthdirect: Spider bites

Profile review

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