Fact Box Species: Blakistonia aurea (as named by R. Whyte on his Arachne.org.au website) Family: Idiopidae, formerly Ctenizidae Body length: female: about 35 mm male: about 32 mm Habitat: In a burrow about 30 cm deep with a half-moon door Toxicity: This spider may exhibit an aggressive stance but seems to have venom of low toxicity

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The spider presented on this page is known as the Adelaide trapdoor spider because it is most often found in gardens and open ground in and around Adelaide. It is included on this page, which is primarily intended to include Queensland and NSW spiders, because it is now known that B. aurea can be found in places as remote as Woomera, SA, and its range may therefore extend into western parts of NSW and Victoria and even into South-west Queensland.

At least one other Blakistonia species has been described by earlier arachnologists but early in 2017 the journal Invertebrate Systematics has indicated that it has accepted an article by M. Rix et al entitled "The Australasian spiny trapdoor spiders of the family Idiopidae (Mygalomorphae: Arbanitinae)" and this article includes the statement that there is actually only one Blakistonia species, B. aurea.

Only the male of Blakistonia aurea is shown in the above images. The female is seen much less often because, like most mygalomorphs, it normally spends its entire life in its burrow. It is a pale brown colour with black surface hairs and in most respects looks very similar to other idiopid females, which makes it more difficult to recognize than the male.

Spider(s) with a very similar appearance: Some other idiopid males.