# What kind of spider is this and is it dangerous?



## CreepedOut (Mar 23, 2010)

i was wondering what kind of spider this is i found it in my tub and put it in a jar, incase it is poisonous. i have attached some pics.


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## Jilly1337 (Mar 23, 2010)

I have no idea what kind it is but it is definitely a male.  You can tell by the little "boxer gloves" on his pedipalps.  He is probably out looking for love.  I doubt it is venomous.  Very few spiders here in North America can really harm a human.  You can try searching for what spiders in your area are venomous.  That list will be much shorter than the list of non-venomous native species.


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## cacoseraph (Mar 23, 2010)

the only thing it could be that has a reputation is a Tegenaria spider

hopefully someone with more exp with that genus could confirm or deny that, as i am essentially trying to ID off of a silhouette =P


even if it is Teg, and despite T. agrestis' repuation, they are not that big of a deal, imo


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## jsloan (Mar 23, 2010)

This might be an adult male _Coras sp._   Does it look anything like this either of these?

http://bugguide.net/node/view/251194

http://bugguide.net/node/view/39520

At any rate, you can dump it outside, and nothing to worry about.  It won't hurt you.


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## ErikWestblom (Mar 23, 2010)

My initial thought was Tegenaria too, and I agree with caco, they're not that big of a deal.


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## cacoseraph (Mar 23, 2010)

ooh, Amaurobiidae can look kinda scary... that is a good possibility, too!
(i can kinda see what might lead you to think Ama, too... they have a "flat face" to me, cuz of the way their jaws are set up in relation to their head... the pic kinda hints at that now that you have put the idea in my head...)


i believe there is an easy distinction, though possibly not as useful with a MM... i am almost certain Ama are cribellate (fuzzy) web makers and i believe Teg are non-crib smooth sheet webs spinnners?   if the spider makes any webbing do try to describe it here 


i am pretty sure Ama have no species to be real worried about, though i could easily be wrong


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## jsloan (Mar 23, 2010)

ErikWestblom said:


> My initial thought was Tegenaria too, and I agree with caco, they're not that big of a deal.


And, even if it is _Tegenaria_, which is possible, _T. agrestis_ doesn't appear that far east anyway.  As far as I know the only spider in Toronto that could give you problems if it were to bite you is the northern black widow, _Latrodectus variolus_; but, your spider is absolutely *not* one of those.

If you really want to know what spider you have, to satisfy your curiosity (since you don't have a dangerous one on your hands), please post a better picture.  Someone here will at least be able to tell you the genus and point you to more information about it.


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## jsloan (Mar 23, 2010)

cacoseraph said:


> ooh, Amaurobiidae can look kinda scary... that is a good possibility, too!
> (i can kinda see what might lead you to think Ama, too... they have a "flat face" to me, cuz of the way their jaws are set up in relation to their head... the pic kinda hints at that now that you have put the idea in my head...)


Also, the palps look "fatter" than _Tegenaria_ palps; more like the bulkier _Coras_ palps I've seen.  



cacoseraph said:


> i am pretty sure Ama have no species to be real worried about, though i could easily be wrong


None that I'm aware of, either.


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## CreepedOut (Mar 23, 2010)

jsloan said:


> This might be an adult male _Coras sp._   Does it look anything like this either of these?
> 
> http://bugguide.net/node/view/251194
> 
> ...


yes it looks alot like the second one, sorry about the bad pics

also it has little hairs all over it and on the "boxers gloves" there is a white dot on either side, anything to be worried about with my cat? i think he was playing with it before i seen it.....


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## cacoseraph (Mar 23, 2010)

well... cats and humans do have quite different physiologies and stuff... but i sure can't recall reading anything that would particularly concern me regarding cats and Amaraubiidae spiders.

the females make pretty cool captives, cuz of the fuzzy type webbing they spin.  the males probably won't make much webbing on account of they are generally intent on finding females to mate with and little else

my overall "evaluation" of the Ama spiders is that they are sometimes kinda fierce looking... and probably could give a tiny bite that might even get slightly red... but they are not a dangerously toxic spider to man or our relatively large mammal friends.  i have kept a couple to watch do their thing and towards other little bugs they can be every bit as aggressive as their appearance might suggest... but have played with more than a dozen of various sizes and have never been bit or anything


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## Venom (Mar 23, 2010)

cacoseraph said:


> well... cats and humans do have quite different physiologies and stuff... but i sure can't recall reading anything that would particularly concern me regarding cats and Amaraubiidae spiders.
> 
> the females make pretty cool captives, cuz of the fuzzy type webbing they spin.  the males probably won't make much webbing on account of they are generally intent on finding females to mate with and little else
> 
> my overall "evaluation" of the Ama spiders is that they are sometimes kinda fierce looking... and probably could give a tiny bite that might even get slightly red... but they are not a dangerously toxic spider to man or our relatively large mammal friends.  i have kept a couple to watch do their thing and towards other little bugs they can be every bit as aggressive as their appearance might suggest... but have played with more than a dozen of various sizes and have never been bit or anything


I've had similar experience with Amaurobiids---fierce hunters, but not all that defensive. I get more attitude from a teeny 1/2" Trachelas than I do from a 2" Amaurobius sp. The females do really well in captivity, too, like Caco says. They make the creepiest-looking webs though! Thick and scraggly, kindof jagged looking. 

They're not known to be toxic to any appreciable extent.


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## cacoseraph (Mar 23, 2010)

right on, Venom... pretty much my experiences: good pets, not dangerous, neat spiders, creepy webs


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## jsloan (Mar 23, 2010)

CreepedOut said:


> yes it looks alot like the second one, sorry about the bad pics


That second picture might be mislabeled, now that I look at it more closely.  It's possible it is a _Callobius sp._, another kind of amaurobiid spider.  Does yours have bands on the legs and a pattern on the top of the carapace (thorax), or is it mostly one color on the legs and carapace with no real markings?  The latter would be _Callobius._

For comparison, here are some pictures of an adult male _Callobius nomeus_ (Amaurobiidae) I took last summer (notice the lack of leg rings or pattern on the carapace).  This and a few other, similar _Callobius_ species occur in your area:













And here's a closeup of the "front end":







See the hooks on the palps?  In _Coras_ they are much smaller and less noticeable.  If your spider's palps look like these, with large hooks or prongs just above the "boxing gloves," it's more likely a _Callobuis sp._ instead of a _Coras_.  Even if so, it's just as harmless as the _Coras_!  Nothing to worry about    A _Tegenaria sp._ wouldn't have hooks/prongs this large, either (FWIW, "tibial aphophyses" is the actual name for them).

(That's why I now think that second picture you mentioned is _Callobius_.  I see a large "hook" on the left palp in that one.)



CreepedOut said:


> also it has little hairs all over it and on the "boxers gloves" there is a white dot on either side, anything to be worried about with my cat? i think he was playing with it before i seen it.....


Virtually all spiders have hairs of one sort or another, and in this one they're nothing to worry about.  They are sensory, not defensive hairs.  

The white dot on the side of each palp is probably part of the palp.  Palps have softer membranes in them that join the sclerotized (harder) parts of the palp together, and these membranes often appear whitish or colorless.  Again, nothing to worry about.  When the spider mates the palp fills with haemolymph (blood) and these softer parts expand like a balloon, pushing the harder parts out and arranging them so they will fit into the female's epigyne for delivery of the sperm.

Okay, now you know far more than you wanted to about these little beasties, I'm sure


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## CreepedOut (Mar 23, 2010)

Its definatly a Callobius...... thanks alot guys, i kinda wanna keep him, any tips on what to do? What does he eat/what should i put in his jar for him?


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## marclar (Mar 26, 2010)

would a callobius get the same setup as an A. similils ?, if so please tell me what i need, theres loads hiding in the house, and I want one as a pet .


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## deathwing (Mar 27, 2010)

CreepedOut said:


> Its definatly a Callobius...... thanks alot guys, i kinda wanna keep him, any tips on what to do? What does he eat/what should i put in his jar for him?


it's a male, and might not last that long, just let it go and fulfill it's duty...


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