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Pelican spider

Fact Box Species: Austrarchaea raveni (see below) Family: Archaeidae Body length: female: 3 mm male: 3 mm Habitat: This rainforest species lives in moss or damp leaf litter Toxicity: Probably harmless to humans

The identity of this spider is derived from the following paper: Rix MG and Harvey MS (2011) "Australian Assassins, Part 1: a review of the Assassin Spiders (Araneae, Archaeidae) of mid-eastern Australia" ZooKeys, 123, 1-100. The authors of this paper emphasize that the many named Australian Austrarchaea species are very difficult to distinguish from each other by their external appearance and that mitochondiral DNA analysis as well as the locality in which a particular specimen was found are more useful for correctly determining individual species names.

Note the distinctive long 'neck' and vertical chelicerae this spider has, these resembling those of a pelican. The three pairs of projections on the upper surface of the abdomen are also of taxonomic value.

This small spider has sometimes been seen to hang inverted from a silken thread and to catch insects by 'spearing' them with its long chelicerae.

Known Range: This species is found in moist forest locations in South-east Queensland but especially in the ranges just north-west of Caboolture.

Spider(s) with a very similar appearance: None.