Huntsman Spiders - Superfamily: Sparassoidea
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Huntsman Spiders, Huntsmen, Giant Crab Spiders or Wood Spiders, name them as you please, are ranked number nine in the top-ten largest spider families with 11 subfamilies, 97 genera - of which 27 unplaced - and 1471 species counted in November 2023. Most are medium- sized to very large spiders with a bodylength of 8 - 42 mm and a legspan of up to 15 cm. There are some giant species as well such as Heteropoda maxima from Laos, the legspan of which can reach 30 cm.
Three of the eleven subfamilies are represented in Australia. Two of the unplaced genera as well, are Australian but neither of these are found in the Northern Rivers. The Family: Sparassidae until recently, was known as the Heteropodidae and Eusparassidae. The current name was found to be a senior synonym however and since Jager (1999) the name Sparassidae has found common acceptance. Fossils of Huntsman Spiders have been found in a few locations such as the Dominican Republic and China. Amber from the Baltic Sea area also has yielded a number of species. Some of the oldest fossils have been found to be as old as 38 My, others are relatively new at 20.4 My old. |
Sparassids are very common spiders found on all continents except Antarctica and other really cold parts of the world such as Canada and the southern tip of South America. They have eight eyes in two rows of four and many species have rather formidable looking chelicerae. That, plus their size and the fact that many are quite hairy, helps to give them a frightful appearance. They are not regarded as dangerous but bites from a Sparassid can present a few issues other than localised pain and swelling as some species seem to possess venom with systemic neurological toxins. In general, Australian species are relatively placid, but females may show some aggression when forced to defend their egg sac and/or offspring. Most species of Huntsmen are rather drably coloured with the various shades browns and greys predominant on the upper side of the body. Underneath the body, it is not uncommon to find aposematic colouring signalling to potential predators that consumption of the spider may not be a good idea. A number of species of species, inluding Australian ones, are bright green betraying their affinity to hunt amongst plant foliage.
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Most Huntsman Spiders prefer to hunt by night and tend to be hidden from view during the day. They are capable of subdueing prey larger than themselves and their diet consists mainly of other invertebrates but, sometimes even small mammals aren't safe (see links below). Their legs are jointed in an unusual manner for spiders and the arrangement is more like that of crabs and, like crabs, some are capable of running sideways. Their body is often somewhat flatted although not to the same extent as it is with Selenopid Spiders. This, and the unusual jointing of the legs, allows them to hide under bark and rocks and on occassion large groups of the same species may be encountered sheltering together.
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Family: Sparassidae
Subfamily: Deleninae
Subfamily: Deleninae
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Golden Huntsman Spider - Beregama aurea
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Fireback Huntsman Spider - Beregama cordata
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Delena cancerides
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Grey Huntsman Spider - Holconia immanis
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C 721 - E.Beringen
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Holconia insignis
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Isopeda vasta
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Isopeda binnaburra
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Complex: Isopeda canberrana
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Queensland Grey Huntsman - Isopeda queenslandica (likely occurrence)
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Complex: Isopeda villosa
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Isopeda villosa
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Bronze Huntsman - Isopedella flavida
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Isopedella pessleri
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Beautiful Badge Huntsman - Neosparassus calligaster
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Badge Huntsman Spider - Neosparassus diana
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Neosparassus pictus
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Neosparassus punctatus
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Northern Badge Huntsman - Neosparassus salacius (possible occurrence)
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Queen of the Huntsmen - Pedania regina
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Green-bellied Hntsman Spider - Typostola barbata
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Typostola heterochroma
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Subfamily: Heteropodinae
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Heteropoda binnaburra
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Heteropoda cervina (possible occurrence)
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Heteropoda distincta
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Heteropoda jugulans
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Heteropoda longipes
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Heteropoda nagarigoon
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Heteropoda procera
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Heteropoda silvatica (possible occurrence)
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Heteropoda venatoria
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Taxonomy:
Phylum: Arthropoda (Arthropods)
> Subphylum: Chelicerata (Chelicerates)
> Class: Arachnida (Arachnids)
> Order: Aranea (Spiders)
> Suborder: Araneomorphae (Typical Spiders)
> Infraorder: Entelegynea (Entelegyne Spiders)
> Superfamily: Sparassoidea
> Family: Sparassidae (Huntsman Spiders)
> Subfamily: Deleninae
> Genus: Beregama
> Species: B. aurea - Golden Huntsman Spider
> Species: B. cordata - Fireback Huntsman Spider
> Genus: Delena
> Species: D. cancerides
> Genus: Holconia (Banded Huntsman Spiders)
> Species: H. immanis - Grey Huntsman Spider
> Species: H. insignis
> Genus: Isopeda
> Species: I. vasta
> Complex: I. binnaburra
> Species: I. binnaburra
> Complex: I. canberrana
> Species: I. queenslandicus - Queensland Grey Huntsman *
> Complex: I. villosa
> Species: I. villosa - Grey Huntsman
> Genus: Isopedella
> Species: I. flavida - Bronze Huntsman
> Species: I. pessleri
> Genus: Neosparassus (Badge Huntsman Spiders)
> Species: N. calligaster - Beautiful Badge Huntsman
> Species: N. diana - Badge Huntsman Spider
> Species: N. pictus
> Species: N. punctatus
> Species: N. salacius - Northern Badge Huntsman ^
> Genus: Pedania (Bark Huntsmen)
> Species: P. regina - Queen of the Huntsmen
> Genus: Typostola
> Species: T. barbata - Green-bellied Huntsman Spider
> Species: T. heterochroma
> Subfamily: Heteropodinae
> Genus: Heteropoda (Giant Huntsman Spiders)
> Species: H. binnaburra
> Species: H. cervina ^
> Species: H. distincta
> Species: H. jugulans
> Species: H. longipes
> Species: H. nagarigoon
> Species: H. procera
> Species: H. silvatica ^
> Species: H. venatoria
* = likely
^ = possibly
Phylum: Arthropoda (Arthropods)
> Subphylum: Chelicerata (Chelicerates)
> Class: Arachnida (Arachnids)
> Order: Aranea (Spiders)
> Suborder: Araneomorphae (Typical Spiders)
> Infraorder: Entelegynea (Entelegyne Spiders)
> Superfamily: Sparassoidea
> Family: Sparassidae (Huntsman Spiders)
> Subfamily: Deleninae
> Genus: Beregama
> Species: B. aurea - Golden Huntsman Spider
> Species: B. cordata - Fireback Huntsman Spider
> Genus: Delena
> Species: D. cancerides
> Genus: Holconia (Banded Huntsman Spiders)
> Species: H. immanis - Grey Huntsman Spider
> Species: H. insignis
> Genus: Isopeda
> Species: I. vasta
> Complex: I. binnaburra
> Species: I. binnaburra
> Complex: I. canberrana
> Species: I. queenslandicus - Queensland Grey Huntsman *
> Complex: I. villosa
> Species: I. villosa - Grey Huntsman
> Genus: Isopedella
> Species: I. flavida - Bronze Huntsman
> Species: I. pessleri
> Genus: Neosparassus (Badge Huntsman Spiders)
> Species: N. calligaster - Beautiful Badge Huntsman
> Species: N. diana - Badge Huntsman Spider
> Species: N. pictus
> Species: N. punctatus
> Species: N. salacius - Northern Badge Huntsman ^
> Genus: Pedania (Bark Huntsmen)
> Species: P. regina - Queen of the Huntsmen
> Genus: Typostola
> Species: T. barbata - Green-bellied Huntsman Spider
> Species: T. heterochroma
> Subfamily: Heteropodinae
> Genus: Heteropoda (Giant Huntsman Spiders)
> Species: H. binnaburra
> Species: H. cervina ^
> Species: H. distincta
> Species: H. jugulans
> Species: H. longipes
> Species: H. nagarigoon
> Species: H. procera
> Species: H. silvatica ^
> Species: H. venatoria
* = likely
^ = possibly
References and links:
> Agnarsson, I., Rayor, L.S., (2013). 'A molecular phylogeny of the Australian huntsman spiders (Sparassidae, Deleninae): implications for taxonomy and social behaviour.' Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2013 Dec;69(3):895-905. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2013.06.015. Epub 2013 Jul 2. PMID: 23831456.
> Hirst, D.B., (1998). 'Irileka, a new heteropodine genus (Araneae: Heteropodidae) from Western Australia.' Records of the Western Australian Museum 19(2): 141-144.
> Isbister, G.K. and Hirst, D., (2003). 'A prospective study of definite bites by spiders of the family Sparassidae (huntsmen spiders) with identification to species level.'
Toxicon. 42 (2): 163–171. doi:10.1016/S0041-0101(03)00129-6. PMID 12906887.
> Jäger, P., (1999). 'Sparassidae - the valid scientific name for the huntsman spiders (Arachnida: Araneae).' Arachnologische Mitteilungen 17: 1-10. doi:10.5431/aramit1701
https://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=1093
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_spider
https://www.livescience.com/65746-possum-eating-spider-australia.html
> Agnarsson, I., Rayor, L.S., (2013). 'A molecular phylogeny of the Australian huntsman spiders (Sparassidae, Deleninae): implications for taxonomy and social behaviour.' Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2013 Dec;69(3):895-905. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2013.06.015. Epub 2013 Jul 2. PMID: 23831456.
> Hirst, D.B., (1998). 'Irileka, a new heteropodine genus (Araneae: Heteropodidae) from Western Australia.' Records of the Western Australian Museum 19(2): 141-144.
> Isbister, G.K. and Hirst, D., (2003). 'A prospective study of definite bites by spiders of the family Sparassidae (huntsmen spiders) with identification to species level.'
Toxicon. 42 (2): 163–171. doi:10.1016/S0041-0101(03)00129-6. PMID 12906887.
> Jäger, P., (1999). 'Sparassidae - the valid scientific name for the huntsman spiders (Arachnida: Araneae).' Arachnologische Mitteilungen 17: 1-10. doi:10.5431/aramit1701
https://www.arachne.org.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=1093
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_spider
https://www.livescience.com/65746-possum-eating-spider-australia.html
Photographic contributions:
Beringen, Erik. C 721 - C 1317.
Beringen, Erik. C 721 - C 1317.