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Comments & ID Thoughts
I am unsure of what species of spider this is. Initially I was looking around my garden for a male and female giant house spiders to keep in a tank, hoping for them to mate. I found what was most definitely a giant house spider with this spider sitting right beside it. On the internet I was told both sexes of spider were very similar in colouration (them both being a brown colour). Could I please get some help identifying this spider's species and sex? Thanks for any help.
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Sep 14, 2018
- Photographed: Sep 14, 2018
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: West Scotland, United Kingdom
- Spotted Outdoors: Man-made structure (building wall, fences, etc.)
- Found in web?: Yes
- Attributes:
Eratigena ‘giant house spider’, species cannot be told from a picture alone, the spider would need examination to be sure of the species. No point keeping them in a tank together as you cannot be sure they are the same species even though they look identicle to the naked eye.
Due to the larger abdomen and proportions I think this is a female spider, males have a slimmer build and longer legs.
Hi, Agree this is female Eratigena species, Males are near identical save for a smaller abdomen and longer legs. When I lived with them, I would usually find them at night wandering in search of females. There are 3 species across Europe, they can’t interbreed, E. saeva is in question. Species can more be determined by region found. Western and northern regions is likely E. Atrica. These poor spiders have gone through a lot of taxonomic changes the last couple decades, 4 species placed into new genus Eratigea, all 3 of the giant house spiders bundled to E.atrica, and now… Read more »