#desidae

[herpsandbirds]

Marine Spider (Desis marina), family Desidae, New Zealand

"Weave their silk homes in seashells and kelp along New Zealand and New Caledonia's rocky shores."

"Evolved to survive underwater by sealing their homes shut and breathing the limited air inside slowly — a much slower respiratory rate than other spiders their size. They venture out during low tide to hunt small sea creatures like amphipods and marine isopods."

photos and info by Itimmo | inaturalist

[drhoz]

#3552 - Baiami sp.

A genus of Australian intertidal spiders (Desidae - not all intertidal) first described by Finnish arachnologist Pekka T. Lehtinen in 1967, although that placement is a new development, after the results of a 2019 genetic analysis. It was originally placed with the Stiphidiidae. A few of the species in the genus got moved into other genera, as well.

Kalamunda NP, Perth.

[rattyexplores]

House Spider Web

Unidentified, genus Badumna

24/03/23 - NSW, Dapto

[onenicebugperday]

@kulisu submitted: any ideas who this may be? I found him early May (so late autumn) right near some shrubbery at a surgery. I'm really bad with scale, but I think he was about a centimetre tall, including his legs. about the size of one of my knuckles. maybe 1.5cm?

location is southern Western Australia. if you believe it's a species endemic to a very specific location then please DM instead of publishing the post.

What a cute little man! This one was a bit difficult for me since I'm not super familiar with Australian spiders. But it looks like it could be a male in the genus Badumna, maybe a grey house spider. They're quite small as you described and the dark mark on the abdomen and large visible chelicerae seem to fit. Another possibility would be a dude in the same family (Desidae) but a different genus, Baiami. I couldn't find many photos to compare but this one here looks like it could be a decent match.

Sorry I couldn't be more specific! If anyone else recognizes him, feel free to comment :)

[drhoz]

#2308 - Badumna longinqua - Grey House Spider

A Desid spider native to eastern Australia, but has since been introduced into New Zealand, Japan, urban California, Mexico, and Uruguay - a remarkably succesful spread compared to the handful of other Australian spiders that have managed to establish elsewhere.

Often found living around houses, which provide abundant nooks and crannies for them to build their messy funnel=shaped webs.

Horopito, North Island Volcanic Plateau, New Zealand

[drhoz]

#2480 - Cambridgea sp. - Bush Spider

AKA New Zealand Sheetweb Spider and Bush Spider. No longer in the Sheetweb Spider Family, however - recent molecular evidence puts it in the Desidae (Intertidal Spiders and Australian House Spiders) instead of the Stiphidiidae.

The webs may be up to a meter across, but the spiders are rarely seen since they spend the day in refuge tunnels. Males may enter houses, and have intimidatingly large jaws, but are basically harmless.

Tawhiti Museum, Taranaki, New Zealand.

[drhoz]

#2088 - Badumna sp.

Really not sure which species this is - the two most common Badumna in Australia are longiqua and insignis, both of whom are common around houses, but this is neither.

Mt. Ainsley, ACT

[drhoz]

#1699 - Corasoides sp. - Western Web Dasher

Second photo by Colin Prickett. First one mine, in bushland at Carbunup.

Also known as Trampoline Spiders, and Australian Labyrinth Spiders. 

Corasoides is a genus of Australian and Papua New Guinea spiders first described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1929. Originally placed with the Agelenidae (Funnel-weavers), then moved to the Stiphidiidae (Sheetweb Spiders) in 1973, and to the Desidae (the Intertidal Spiders) after a 2017 genetic study.

As you can probably guess from the common names of the spider and its previously presumed relatives, the most distinctive feature of the genus are the webs - in fact, you hardly ever see the spider since it usually hides deep within the labyrinth. What you do see is a complicated tangle of silk down in the undergrowth, with a very densely packed sheet spun out horizontally beneath it. Flying insects blunder into the maze above, and fall down onto the trampoline, where the spider immeadiately dashes out to seize it.