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MOUSE SPIDERS |
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The Mouse Spider is a member of the Trapdoor
family. Trapdoor spiders include the Funnel-web, Mouse,
Whistling, and Curtain-web spiders; they are distinguished by the
stocky body, long leg-like palps, and two knee-like lobes to which
the fangs join (chelicerae) in front. Most live in burrows with or
without trapdoors in the ground, but some live in trees. Trapdoor
spiders have powerful chelicerae and four pale patches (the
book-lungs) under the abdomen. The correct identification of
Trapdoor spiders is often quite complicated.
There are two types of Mouse Spider in Australia- the Red Headed Mouse
Spider and the Eastern Mouse Spider. The Latin name is Missulena
Occatoria. At full size, the Mouse Spider are about the size of
a 50c piece or 1 to 3 centimetres. They have short stocky legs with
tiny eyes spread across the head. The male Red Headed Mouse spider
(pictured below) has a bright red head and a blue abdomen. The Mouse
Spider lives all over Australia but not in Tasmania. It lives in
arid conditions as well as rainforests and bushlands. The home of
the Mouse Spider is a burrow, oval shaped, of moderate depth and
straight down. Female spiders spends all their lives in the burrow.
Male spiders wander in Spring to Autumn. The burrow may be plastered
with mud and digestive juices then lined with silk. They also live
in other parts of the world like the USA.
The females tend to remain in or near their burrows throughout
their life, and are sluggish spiders that are rarely aggressive.
However M. occatoria females have been found to produce copious amounts of highly toxic venom, which is potentially as dangerous as that of the Sydney Funnel-web Spider. A male M. bradleyi caused a serious envenomation in a child in the Brisbane region. Males wander during early winter, especially after rain. They will assume a threatening posture if disturbed.
A bite should be treated the same as a funnel web bite and immediate
first aid should be applied. Apply a pressure bandage over the
bitten area as high up the limb as possible. Immobilise the victim.
If possible, carefully collect spider for positive identification.
Do not wash venom off the skin, as retained venom will assist
identification. |
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Reply: I think this is a mouse spider - glen
23 December, 2011:
Hello,
This spider was taken at work in Gulf Breeze, Florida. I tried looking online trying to identify this guy, but no luck. My son is extremely into spiders and other bugs and I would like to help him figure this out. Can you help? Thanks.
Joe
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Reply: This is a mouse spider - glen
22
October, 2011:
I live in eastern nc, I found this the other day at work. I have looked at all kinds of pictures but I cannot figure out what it is.
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Reply: Possibly a mouse spider, definitely not a
tarantula but in the same family of myglamorphs - glen
19 May, 2011:
Friend on FaceBook said it's a tarantula...
I said no way is this a tarantula... lol
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6 May, 2011:
Do you know what type of spider this is?
Thank you.
Shelly
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28 May, 2010: |
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29 June, 2009: |
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10 July, 2008:
Hi, my name is Linda and I work at the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, Maryland U.S. There was a spider brought to us that was found in southern Calvert County around the beach area, (of the Chesapeake Bay), and would appreciate your assistance in identifying the spider. No one in the area has ever seen one like it before.
Looking it up on your web-site it looks like a Female, Mouse Spider. Missulena occatoria. Since this seems to be primarily an Australian spider, how frequently are they found in the US? There seems to be a few accounts of the Mouse spider found in the Southern US. We are trying to identify it more out of curiosity then necessity.
The pictures are not the best, and have been shrunken for email, but we do still have the spider and the 1+ MB pics.
We would greatly appreciate any advice you can provide. I have also sent the pictures to the Washington DC Zoo, entomologist, and waiting to hear something back, along w/ a few other people.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Linda
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1 October, 2007:
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27 July, 2007:
I'm attaching the photo of the spider taken in Appling, GA USA.
The
size was the size of a silver dollar. Looks so much like the
mouse
spider!
Kathleen
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18 June, 2006:
Hi there! After seeing your web site, I thought I'd send you these
photo's of a Red Headed Mouse spider that we came across near
Adelaide. He's a pretty specimen don't you think. I'd never seen or
heard of them before, so it was great to see one in the wild while
we were out walking.
Kind Regards
Stewart West |
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23
November, 2004:
I found this not so little guy in the
ground while digging a ditch. I live in North Carolina. It looks
like some type of a funnel web??? I would love to know what species
it is.
Sincerely,
David DeKort
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