Colorful Crab Spider ID

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

This was found by my friend indoors in Massachusetts, unfortunately she got rid of it and this is the best picture of it. Google is unhelpful, I can't find any crab spiders that look anything like this. In different lighting its metallic coloration shifts between blue and green, and it its forelegs might have a reddish tint.

 

[schmiggle]

The image appears not to have posted.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

See if it works now.

I'm really at a loss here, I have no idea what this could be.

 

[The Snark]

I think I'm looking at a Jumper, maybe Messua. Thomisidae are usually big on camouflage and ambush. Not applying for poster boy/girl in an LGBT parade.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

I think I'm looking at a Jumper, maybe Messua. Thomisidae are usually big on camouflage and ambush. Not applying for poster boy/girl in an LGBT parade.

That briefly crossed my mind, but its body shape really resembles a crab spider and the video I screenshotted this picture from shows it moving exactly like a crab spider.

 

[The Snark]

A very rough rule: rounded bottom, Crab. Jumpers use their extended abdomen as a flight stabilizer on take off.
But I'm not going to go by movement. Jumpers crawl very cautiously on cloth most of the time. That's the best way to get good pictures of them. Need a better picture.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

I don't really have a better picture, as the spider in question has since been killed and flushed down a toilet and the only record of its existence is a single blurry video, but here's a couple more shots that show its decidedly Thomisid-esque body form and one that shows the markings on its opsithoma pretty clearly.

 

[The Snark]

That helps. Round butt unusual for a jumper. I also suggest your friend seek professional help. Counseling as to the difference between dangerously cute and deadly peril.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

That helps. Round butt unusual for a jumper. I also suggest your friend seek professional help. Counseling as to the difference between dangerously cute and deadly peril.

Well, believe it or not I've already cured her of arachnophobia to the extent that she's handled one of my tarantulas with no fear whatsoever. Initially she sent me the video so I could tell her whether it was dangerous and attempted to capture it alive with a card and a cup, but I didn't respond soon enough and she killed it after it escaped from the cup.

What I needed to do is better explain that the chances of an unknown spider being dangerous are extremely low. Although the fact that I have no idea what this spider is probably wouldn't help my case.

 

[The Snark]

What I needed to do is better explain that the chances of an unknown spider being dangerous are extremely low.

Odds of getting killed:
By a shark: 1 in 3,748,067.
From fireworks: 1 in 340,733
Lightning strike: 1 in 79,746
Drowning: 1 in 1,134
Car accident: 1 in 84
Stroke: 1 in 24
Heart disease: 1 in 5
Spider bite: ~ 1 in 5,000,000

 

[schmiggle]

Have you posted on bugguide.com? I already scrolled through all the images of Thomisidae in Massachusetts and didn't find it, but you also might try looking in neighboring states.

 

[pannaking22]

I think it's Bassaniana, but the lighting is making it look more shiny/colorful.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

I think it's Bassaniana, but the lighting is making it look more shiny/colorful.

Yeah, I did notice that it looks exactly like Bassaniana apart from coloration, especially the opisthosomal markings. There's no pictures of Bassaniana nearly this colorful but they are slightly iridescent. I'll have to ask if weird lighting in the room (like a decorative blacklight) could've affected the spider's appearance.

There's also the fact that the specific name of the Bassaniana species that occurs in this area is versicolor. Maybe that has something to do with strange coloration that appears in certain light or shows up in certain individuals.