Delena cancerides, or Flat Huntsman, or Avondale Spider. The species name comes from their crab-like appearance. I found this one sitting on my side mirror when I went to work. Isn't he sweet? Look at that beautiful silky fur! And those giant black shiny fangs! And those beady black eyes that have stared unblinking into Hell!
A large huntsman spider up to 20 centimetres across, that lives in colonies of up to 300. Originally native to Australia, where they're quite common, and accidentally introduced to Auckland, New Zealand, where they've spent the last 90 years peacefully invading the areas surrounding the suburb of Avondale. They have a sculpture of one at the mall.
Like all huntsmen spiders, timid and much more likely to flee - up walls, across ceilings, onto your face - if they see you coming, rather than even attempt a threat display. They starred in Arachnophobia and the start of Spiderman, precisely because they're easy to handle even with bare hands (or faces), and will tolerate large numbers of other huntsman around - providing they're from the same colony. They'll even share prey, all of which is extremely unusual for spiders. The various populations around Australia have major differences in their chromosomes, but still hybridise happily. That's odd, too.
Sadly, I don't think this one was well - it was very sluggish, for one thing, and still sitting where I put him when I got home - out in the open on a tree branch. There's a number of possible reasons, but I fear the most likely is the heatwave we've been having, which is so severe even the redback spiders are abandoning the roof cavity and abseiling into the house.
A large huntsman spider up to 20 centimetres across, that lives in colonies of up to 300. Originally native to Australia, where they're quite common, and accidentally introduced to Auckland, New Zealand, where they've spent the last 90 years peacefully invading the areas surrounding the suburb of Avondale. They have a sculpture of one at the mall.
Like all huntsmen spiders, timid and much more likely to flee - up walls, across ceilings, onto your face - if they see you coming, rather than even attempt a threat display. They starred in Arachnophobia and the start of Spiderman, precisely because they're easy to handle even with bare hands (or faces), and will tolerate large numbers of other huntsman around - providing they're from the same colony. They'll even share prey, all of which is extremely unusual for spiders. The various populations around Australia have major differences in their chromosomes, but still hybridise happily. That's odd, too.
Sadly, I don't think this one was well - it was very sluggish, for one thing, and still sitting where I put him when I got home - out in the open on a tree branch. There's a number of possible reasons, but I fear the most likely is the heatwave we've been having, which is so severe even the redback spiders are abandoning the roof cavity and abseiling into the house.