Sombrero Spider Identification in Australia

About the Sombrero spider / sheetweb spider

Sombrero spiders are Australian sheetweb spiders often noticed because of the web shape rather than the spider itself. Stiphidion facetum is recorded from eastern Australia, Tasmania and nearby regions, and its broad sheet-like web with a central raised retreat can help separate it from house spiders, orb-weavers and funnel-web lookalikes.

Exact-species specimen views

These licensed exact-taxon photographs show useful anatomy and variation. Use each caption for record and image context; no single image set represents every colour, posture or habitat.

How to identify the Sombrero spider / sheetweb spider

The accepted species on this page is Stiphidion facetum Simon, 1902, a sheetweb spider in the family Stiphidiidae. The most useful field clue is the web: a broad, densely woven sheet slopes from a raised central retreat or funnel, giving the web its upside-down sombrero outline. The spider may be brown, grey or patterned, with long legs and a body that is often easier to see from the underside of the sheet than from a distant photograph. The web architecture is stronger evidence than a generic long-legged brown spider, because house spiders, funnel-web relatives and other sheetweb builders overlap in colour and size. A good record includes the whole web, the central retreat, the substrate and a dorsal or side view of the spider without disturbing it. Adult genital characters and an expert specimen check remain stronger than a photo-only identification.

Clues that are not enough on their own

• A brown or grey long-legged spider without seeing the web architecture
• Any funnel or retreat, because house spiders and funnel-web relatives also use silk-lined retreats
• A sheet web without the raised central sombrero-like retreat
• A web under a rock, log or building edge treated as proof of Stiphidion facetum
• A location in an accepted state used as a species diagnosis
• An upside-down bowl silhouette from a distant or damaged web photograph
• A common-name match or an online photograph of a different sheetweb species

Colour, sex and life-stage variation

Females are generally larger and more robust than males, while adult males can look slimmer and may leave the retreat when searching for mates. Brown, grey, cream and darker patterned tones can shift with moult, age, shadow, web dust and camera exposure. Juveniles may build a smaller or less obvious sheet and can be confused with other stiphidiids. The web may be steeply sloping, partly hidden by bark or rock, or weathered so that the central funnel is not obvious. Do not turn an upside-down-bowl outline, a long leg span or a brown colour into a species call without checking the sheet web and the documented range together.

Behaviour, web and retreat

This is a web-building sheetweb spider rather than an active ground hunter. It waits in or beneath a silk-lined central retreat and runs across the sheet to seize insects that fall onto or touch the dense web. The sheet can be anchored to rock faces, logs, bark, retaining walls, garden edges and other sheltered surfaces; the retreat may be closed or partly hidden by the sheet. A spider may retreat quickly when light, vibration or rain reaches the web. Do not lift a rock, pull bark away or put fingers under a sheet to expose it. Photograph the web from a distance first, then record the spider only if it is visible without manipulation.

Australian distribution

Current catalogue and biodiversity records place Stiphidion facetum in eastern Australia, including Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, with records also extending to New Zealand. The visible Australian state filters on this page follow the accessible Lucid and Australian Museum range evidence rather than implying that every sheetweb in those states is this species. A record outside that set may be a different Stiphidion or another sheetweb spider; preserve the locality and seek a museum or biodiversity-record review instead of widening the species range from a common name.

What to do if you find one

Leave a sheet web intact and photograph the full structure, central retreat, supporting surface and broad locality. Use a scale object only if it is already present; never place a ruler, hand or phone against the silk. Wear gloves and closed shoes when moving garden materials, and keep children and pets away from unknown webs. If a bite is suspected, wash the area and use a wrapped cold pack. Seek medical help for severe or spreading symptoms, allergic features, infection signs or uncertainty about what caused the bite; call 13 11 26 for poisons advice and 000 for collapse or breathing difficulty.

Compare with similar spiders

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

• Black house spider — Black house spider - Badumna builds lace-like webs with a retreat around walls, windows and fences; compare the web texture and central retreat rather than calling every funnel a sombrero web.
• Curtain-web spider — Curtain-web spider - curtain-web sheets can look broad and sloping, but the retreat, substrate and spider proportions need to agree before using the sombrero name.
• Hackled orb weaver — Funnel-web spider - a dark spider in a silk retreat is not enough to infer a medically important funnel-web; do not handle it and use urgent bite advice when a funnel-web is suspected.
• Long-jawed orb weaver — Hackled orb weaver - cribellate sheet or lace webs may overlap in sheltered vegetation; a raised central retreat and the documented Stiphidion range are supporting clues, not proof.

Sources for this profile

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

• Australian Faunal Directory: Stiphidion facetum
• Atlas of Living Australia: Stiphidion facetum
• World Spider Catalog: Stiphidion facetum
• World Spider Catalog: Stiphidiidae family catalogue
• Australian Museum: Web2Spider sheet-web guide
• Lucid Central: Stiphidion sheetweb spiders
• Australian Museum: Spider webs
• Australian Museum: Silk and spider success
• healthdirect: Spider bites
• Wikimedia Commons: exact Stiphidion facetum photograph

Profile review

Published by Spider Identifier Australia. Last factual review: 13 August 2026.