Wandering Spiders - Family: Ctenidae
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With 603 species in 48 genera - 3 of which in 1 subfamily, the remainder unplaced - the family of the Wandering Spiders is by no means small. And whereas there are a good number of Australian records in the 'Atlas of Living Australia', those from the NR have not been identified to species. As a result it is not possible to say with certainty which species may be found locally, but it is not unreasonable to surmise that the most likely candidate is Leptoctenus agelenoides. There are two other possible species but their individual status as a resident of the Northern Rivers is at best tenuous.
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As with many other spider families, the last 25 years or so has seen substantial re-shuffling of species, genera and families and the Ctenidae have not been immune to this with 26 of its' genera placed in other families as more and more detailed information about this group of spiders came to light. Notwithstanding the amount of work that has been undertaken sofar, there is always the possibility that further research will effect further changes to the taxonomic order of the Ctenidae. Wandering Spiders are called such due to their vagrant lifestyle.
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The Family: Ctenidae includes the Genus: Phoneutria or Brazilian Wandering Spiders, some species of which can have a leg span of 13 to 20 cm and a body length of 17 to 48 mm. There are araneomorphs with a longer leg span, but very few, if any, can match the largest Phoneutria for the longest body or the greatest body weight. It also contains a couple of species that could actually be considered dangerous to humans with a number of well documented cases reporting serious health issues or even death folowing a bite.
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Amauropelma sp. (possible occurrence)
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Ctenus agroecoides (possible occurrence)
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Leptoctenus agelenoides (likely occurrence)
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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: Lycosoidea (Wolf Spiders and Allies)
> Family: Ctenidae (Wandering Spiders)
> Genus: Amauropelma ^
> Species: ?
> Genus: Ctenus ^ (Tropical Wandering Spiders)
> Species: C. agroecoides
> Genus: Leptoctenus *
> Species: L. agelenoides
* = likely
^ = possibly
References and links:
> Proctor, H.C., Smith, I.M., Cook, D.R. and Smith, B.P., (2015). Chapter 25 - 'Subphylum Chelicerata, Class Arachnida.' Editor(s): Thorp, J.H. and D. Rogers, D.C.(2015). 'Thorp and Covich's Freshwater Invertebrates.' (Fourth Edition), Academic Press, 2015, Pages 599-660, doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-385026-3.00025-5.
> Silveira, R., (2007). 'Acidentes por Phoneutria sp - ppt carregar.' https://slideplayer.com.br/slide/365741/
> Simó, M., (2001). 'Revision and cladistic analysis of the Neotropical spider genus Phoneutria Perty, 1833 (Araneae, Ctenidae), with notes on related Cteninae.' Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society. 12 (2): 67–82.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoneutria
> Proctor, H.C., Smith, I.M., Cook, D.R. and Smith, B.P., (2015). Chapter 25 - 'Subphylum Chelicerata, Class Arachnida.' Editor(s): Thorp, J.H. and D. Rogers, D.C.(2015). 'Thorp and Covich's Freshwater Invertebrates.' (Fourth Edition), Academic Press, 2015, Pages 599-660, doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-385026-3.00025-5.
> Silveira, R., (2007). 'Acidentes por Phoneutria sp - ppt carregar.' https://slideplayer.com.br/slide/365741/
> Simó, M., (2001). 'Revision and cladistic analysis of the Neotropical spider genus Phoneutria Perty, 1833 (Araneae, Ctenidae), with notes on related Cteninae.' Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society. 12 (2): 67–82.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoneutria
Photographic Contributions: