Palystes
(Rain Spiders)

Picture ID 13014

Comments & ID Thoughts

This is a spider i found outise my home in Cape Town, South Africa. Any idea what kind of Spider it is?

Submitted by:
anthonys
Submitted: May 13, 2018
Photographed: May 11, 2018
Spider: Palystes (Rain Spiders)
Sex:
Female,
Maturity:
Adult
Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Spotted Outdoors: Man-made structure (building wall, fences, etc.)
Found in web?: No
Attributes: Egg sacs, Lateral

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BugmanDan

May 13, 2018 6:40 am

Hi. not the best angle for certainty, looks like one of your giant crab spiders, Sparassidae family, AKA huntsman spider. Might be what you call rain spiders(Palystes genus)
Standing guard over her egg sac,well camouflaged with leaves and debris.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGTe_-WLHd0
Not much official documentation, mostly pets and simple blogs. If not welcome, they are fairly easy to catch where huntsman go:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5STyZ9_N5kI
Had no idea so many like or welcome them,but they are a least threat spider.
Welcome to the site.