#lamponidae

[drhoz]

#1999 - Lampona cylindrata - White-tailed Spider

The genus name comes from the Latin lampo ("to shine") although I don't know why the original taxonomist chose that. Cylindrata refers to the cylindric body shape, while murinus means "mouse-gray" in Latin and is appropriate for the sister species with the same common name.

I'm a bit surprised I haven't covered these before (unless the posts got eaten by the Great Tumbr Purge). Both cylindrata and the very similar murina are widespread around Australia,and have also been introduced to New Zealand.

The 60-odd species are vagrant hunters, with prey that includes other spiders, but their main claim to fame is a completely undiserved reputation for bites that cause necrotic lesions. They can certainly bite humans, and effects including a red marks, local itchiness, swelling and pain, and very occasionally nausea, vomiting, malaise or headache, but a study of over 130 confirmed White-tail bites found no associated lesions.

[drhoz]

Come To Australia - You Might Accidentally Get Killed (Part 2)

Legendary animals dispensed with, I then moved on to some real species with interesting legends about them.

Such as the Daddy-Long-Legs Spider, which has a world-wide myth regarding it's lethality. Not true, of course, as proved by the Mythbusters and many others - it's perfectly capable of penetrating human skin but the venom is next to harmless to something our size. Besides, they hunt other spiders, which is useful.

Another spider-hunting spider frequently found is houses are the White Tails, Lampona cylindrata and L. murina.

Thanks to some lazy reporting in the 80s, these spiders earned a completely undeserved rep for causing flesh-eating ulcers. Some claimed this was because they sucked up the venom of spiders they ate, and recycled it. Complete rubbish, of course.

More interesting is the less widespread myth about the Masked Lapwing, aka Australian Spur-winged Plover.

Like many plovers, this bird will go to great lengths to distract you or drive you away from its nest. The myth revolves around the spurs on its wings, which are said to be venomous. They aren't, of course, but no doubt the fear adds spice to the game of "Teasing the Spur-winged Plover"