What is this?

[Lyle Beach]

Well... this is certainly th biggest spider that I have ever seen in Ocean Shores, WA. I was watching a movie when this guy was climbing up the wall!! I thought it was my juvinile B. smithi! That how big it looks!

He is 2 3/4" in leg span, and he has a patten on his abdoman, that looks simular to a Poecilotheria.

Anyone ID this please?

 

[Wade]

Hard to say for sure because the pic is a little too blury, but I'd say it's either a wolf spider (Hogna sp.) or a fishing spider (Dolomedes sp.). The pattern on the abdomen makes me lean towards the later. Fishing spiders tend to rest in a more flattened posture, while wolf spiders assume a more typical spider pose, if that helps.

Wade

 

[Lyle Beach]

What else could I describe to you for a better ID. Also, I have 3 Tarantulas, but this is my 1st spider. Do they molt also? I plan to keep this one for a while... right now it's munching on a cricket.

 

[Jeri]

All arthropods molt. Congratulations on your find. That is a cool spider.

Jeri

 

[Wade]

Although they molt as they grow, the vast majority of arachnids stop molting when they reach sexual maturity. Theraphosids (tarantulas) are an exception (amblypigids are annother). If your spider is mature, it will not molt again.

I'm not nearly knowledgeable enough to give you precise keys to tell them apart, but as a rule wolf spiders usually have two very large prominent eyes facing forward while the other six eyes are quite a bit smaller. Fishing spiders also have two forward facing eyes, but they are only somewhat larger than the other six and not nearly so obvious.

A VERY handy book to have is "Spiders and their Kin" by Levi and Levi. It's a "golden Guide" and only costs $6 or so and is available at nearly any bookstore. Of course, it doesn't show every species, but most of the time you can at least figure out the family and sometimes even the genus of most of the spiders you find in the US. Be aware, however, that some names have changed since it was first published. For example, US wolf spiders now in the genus Hogna are listed in the book as Lycosa (Lycosidae is still the family, however).

Both are easy to keep, basically like a small tarantula. Looks like your set up is fine. Neither spider is as long lived as tarantulas, but I've had wolf spiders live more than two years in captivity and fishing spiders live nearly as long. If it turns out to be a fishing spider, you might want to try a semi-aquatic set up. It's not necessary to keep them that way, but it's very interesting to watch them move accross the surface of the water and snag crickets dropped on the surface. Have fun with it!

Wade

 

[Drosera123]

Could that be a wanderer or a huntsman? All Lycosidae are terrestrial right, I don't follow wolfs that much?
Steve

 

[Guy]

Tegenaria sp ?
They're famous for wandering around while you're watching movies

 

[skinheaddave]

A VERY handy book to have is "Spiders and their Kin" by Levi and Levi. It's a "golden Guide" and only costs $6 or so and is available at nearly any bookstore.

Ever since your recommendation of "Journey to the Ants," I have made it a habit to look into every book you speak of. In this case, I found two books. One seems to be much more recent (2001 vs 1990). Could it be an update with more accurate info than the one of which you spoke? Or did you mean the newer one? Here are some links:

New One

Old One

Cheers,
Dave

 

[Longbord1]

it does look like a wolf spider due to the coloration and theshape of its head.

id say wolf can we see some more pics?

 

[Lyle Beach]

Thanks for all the replies! I will try to get a few more pictures tonight.

 

[Lucretia]

While I am not completely familiar with spiders outside of the UK members of Lycosidae have large posterior median eyes whereas in Pisauridae (family of Dolomedes) they are only slightly larger than the rest. You should be able to spot this fairly easily since the spider is a good size. If not use a magnifying glass. You should see two big eyes at the front.

Identifying down to a species level is more difficult. Could throw out guesses with more pictures but they would be exactly that..guesses.

 

[vulpina]

My guess would be a member of the fishing spider family.

Andy

 

[Venom]

The abdominal pattern does bring Dolomedes tenebrosus to mind, but with the long, slender brown legs I'm pretty sure that this is in fact a Tegeneria species, perhaps T. gigantea, which also have the herringbone pattern on their abdomens. T. agrestis ( hobo spider ) is also in your area, although from what I've read they generally aren't very large. Still, I would advise caution with this one. If it makes a funnel/ tube web, then it is most likelyTegeneria sp. Nice find!

 

[Wade]

Ever since your recommendation of "Journey to the Ants," I have made it a habit to look into every book you speak of. In this case, I found two books. One seems to be much more recent (2001 vs 1990). Could it be an update with more accurate info than the one of which you spoke? Or did you mean the newer one? Here are some links:

New One

Old One

Cheers,
Dave

Dave-

Although they do release new editions with new covers every few years, I'm pretty sure they don't change the contents much if at all. We have the 1990 edition at the center and I have an older, 70's edition at home and as far as I can tell there is no difference in the content, only the covers change. I'll have to check out the newer edition next time I'm at the bookstore to see if anything has been changed.

At $6 it's still a bargain, even if it's somewhat outdated. It also has sections on scorpions and all the other major arachnid orders as well as brief (but helpful) treatments of myriapods and land crutaceans. All in all, a very handy little book! I wish there was something half this useful for insects.

Wade

 

[Malhavoc's]

Very nice spider indeed. Although could you get a frontal shot. from what I can see it has larger publus's indicating a possible male.. the smallish abdomin may also lead to male. only a frontal shot will tell! very nice spider though. please more pix!

 

[Malkavian]

Ahhh I see someone's using my CD spindle idea

Very cool lookin spider, good luck IDin it though. I second Wade's opinion on Spiders and their Kin, its a good guide (I've got the 70s edition my mom had when she wsa younger!)

 

[Lyle Beach]

Sorry guys... I have tried to take more pictures, but they come out all blurry. I will try to get ahold of my friends camera that takes better pictures.

Let me describe this though... The spider definatly has 2 eyes that face straight forward, and it appears that the abdoman and the carapace seem to share the same color pattern. I'll try to take a picture for you of the web... maybe that will help out.

 

[Longbord1]

im suprised at all its webbing but i am very sure that it is a wolf spider now that i look at it and of ur descirption

 

[Wade]

That seems like an awful lot of webbing for a wolf, but I guess it could be. I haven't ruled out fishing spider, but I'm starting to lean more towards Guy and Venom's suggestions of Tegenaria.

Wade

 

[CSP_Joe]

That is some intense webbing, I've been breeding Dolomedes for years, the patterning on the opisthosoma reminds me of D. tenebrosus, but with the amount of webbing my moneys on Tegenaria sp. Nice spider either way.

Joe

Latrodectus dahli
Latrodectus pallidus
Latrodectus cinctus
Latrodectus revivensis
Latrodectus tredecimguttatus
Latrodectus hystrix
Latrodectus indistinctus
Latrodectus rhodesiensis
Latrodectus corallinus
Latrodectus geometricus
Latrodectus mactans
Latrodectus variolus
Latrodectus hesperus
Latrodectus bishopi
Dolomedes triton
Dolomedes tenebrosus
Dolomedes aquaticus
Dolomedes albineus
Dolomedes striatus