top of page

Australian Mygalomorph Spiders

When people think of Australian spiders, Funnelweb Spiders are the most infamous and feared. They are part of the diverse Australian Mygalomorphae, which contains Actinopodidae, Barychelidae, Dipluridae, 

Hexathelidae, Idiopidae, Migidae, Nemesiidae and Theraphosidae (Tarantulas).

All these spiders construct burrows - from deep straight burrows with a chamber for Tarantulas, burrows entranced with webbed trip lines for Funnelwebs, mutiple entranced burrows with lids for some Idiopidae and a sock=like webbed chamber burrow for Barychelidae. Some Hexathelidae also construct webbed burrows in trees.

These spiders are ambush predators and wait at the entrance of their burrows for prey passing by.

All Australian Mygalomorphae are venomous and can cause major sickness and discomfort in humans, with the funnelwebs Atrax and Hadronyche having venom that has the capability of being lethal.

Aname sp. 
(post moult colouration)

Australian Mygalomorphs can be extremely difficult to tell apart, with only subtle differences between genera and species. There are many undescribed species and some families such as Tarantulas are in need of a taxonomic revision because of many species being lumped together.

As a general rule, male Mygalomorphs are much skinnier, have longer legs, more vivid colours and most importantly, the presence of palpal emboli.

Tropical Far North Queensland

January 03, 2023

Tell people more about this item. What's it about and what makes it interesting?

Manu National Park, Peru

February 23, 2023

Tell people more about this item. What's it about and what makes it interesting?

Please reload

© Nick Volpe + Lucyna Kania 2018
bottom of page