my first true spider

[smof]

Hey all.

I have 5 tarantulas ranging from 0.75" to 5". About an hour ago one of my housemates came into my room squealing "I think one of your tarantulas is on my ceiling!" A quick glance and the only one I couldn't see was the OBT, so I thought "Oh crap!!"

But no, he's safe in his burrow, and my housemate is an idiot. The culprit wandering around on her ceiling was a 1" house spider, I believe the species is Tegenaria domestica? I removed it for her, but it's so cold outside right now that I didn't want to chuck it out. So it's now in a 100-CDRW case with a bit of substrate and a small plastic lid as a hide.

This is Teggy, before it went in its new home:

I'll keep it for a few months till it warms up outside and then go put it in the shed or something.

 

[Scorpiove]

It doesn't really look like Tegenaria domestica Can you get picture from the front showing the fangs and eye area?

 

[smof]

Unfortunately it's not easy, he's extremely skittish and at the slightest disturbance he just starts running laps of the tub he's in and then hunches up. These were the best I could get. I'll try again if he calms down once he's settled in a bit.

Maybe a description would help. He (I have no idea of the sex, I'm just calling it 'he') has a legspan of just under 1.5" and a body length of about 0.75" - these are very rough estimates though. He's a uniform dark brown with no noticable patterns, and not terribly hairy (but I'm comparing him to tarantulas ) He doesn't seem to be able to climb smooth surfaces. He's very fast and as I said extremely nervous. The most striking thing about him that I just noticed when taking these photos is that he has shiny gold-coloured chelicerae. This isn't a trick of the light or camera, I just took a good look with a torch and they are very gold. Also I live on the south coast of England if that helps

Any ideas? I'm really intrigued now as to what species he might be. Thanks

 

[Scorpiove]

I'm deffinately not an expert. But how are the fangs situated? Are they like a tarantulas fangs or are they like a regular "true spider fangs", and the eyes are they grouped like a tarantulas or out at front like a true spider. In the pic it almost looks like some myglamorph type spider? If it is a myglamorph then it wouldn't be a "true spider", I am by no means though an expert. I'm sure there are some true spiders that probably look like the spider in your pic also.

Some myglamorph spiders here:
http://www.spiderzrule.com/myglamorphs.htm

Doh: Now that I'm think about it, it probably is a true spider..... lets see wh at other board members have to say. It is a cool looking spider though thats for sure!

 

[spinnekop]

Hi Smof, what you catched is not a mygalomorph nor Tegenaria.
It's a Segestria and as far as I can see it's Segestria florentina.
Adult specimen have beautiful blue/green chelicerae and mesure over 2cm bodylength.
Watch the positions of the legs. The 3 first pare of legs are usually folded forward while the last pare of legs is directed backwards. Ofcourse there are other species doing this (like huntsman spiders) but this is typical for segestria.
They are generaly mediteranean spiders and usually found near coast area's and ports. These spiders live very long. A friend of mine had an adult for more then 10 years !
I add a fiew site's for your info.

http://www.stevehopkin.co.uk/cornishspiders/007SEGflo/

http://www.nicksspiders.com/nicksspiders/segestriaflorentina.htm

 

[smof]

Hey guys thanks for the info. That's cool that he's a Segestria, they sound pretty interesting. Maybe I won't chuck him outside again. I just did a search on them and it looks like he might like to make a tube web so I'll find something for him to make it on. He's sitting under a plastic lid right now, and he's already eaten a small cricket

 

[smof]

Just an update on my little guy. He's been named Pedro by the housemate whose room I caught him in

He's still very shy but he's not as skittish as when I first caught him, he's made himself a home by webbing up the underside of his plastic lid. This is the best pic I could get, you can only kind of see him but it shows how he's built his home:

I got home drunk last night and accidently knocked his tub over, burying him in substrate (I know, I'm an idiot, I felt really bad :8o ) I figured trying to dig him out would only make things worse cos I'd probably squash him or something, so I gently levelled the dirt again and left him to it. Today he's back in his lid and doesn't seem harmed. Probably just P'ed off at me

I'm thinking I might rehome him soon, cos I want to swap him and my emilia over as Pedro currently has the larger tub and the emilia just moulted. I'm going to stick some bits of wood together so he can make a tube web more easily, he looks all squishy in the lid

 

[Bungholio]

Don´t drink and handle with spiders!

 

[smof]

That's the thing, I wasn't even trying to do anything with the spiders. I was picking something off my desk and I guess my coat knocked his tub or something. I dunno

 

[spinnekop]

Hi Smof, just a small advise...
Handle your segestria with some respect 'cause this specie has the habbit to defend itself. They are not very poisinous but they have huge fangs....
I one's captured one specimen in Greece. Using a small pencil, I pulled it out of it's tube from the wall of a house and it fell on the ground. It raised it's front legs, had the fangs wide open and followed every move I made.
If you keep it in a container without shelter, it will make a horisontal tube-like web and sit somewhere in the middle of it. So a substrate is not really necessary for housing this specie (but it looks nicer ofcourse).
By the way, your pictures are great !