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Comments & ID Thoughts
12:10am Newhall CA After our first rain storm of the winter Jan. 9 2018
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Jan 9, 2018
- Photographed: Jan 9, 2018
- Spider: Bothriocyrtum californicum (California Trapdoor Spider)
- Sex:
Male, - Maturity:Adult
- Location: Newhall, California, United States
- Spotted Outdoors: Man-made structure (building wall, fences, etc.)
- Found in web?: Yes
- Attributes: Lateral
Jan 16, 2018
Jan 15, 2018
San Diego, 
Never seen such a big shiny spider in the hallway outside of the apartment.
Hi, welcome to Spider ID. I typically don’t have a lot of confidence IDing Mygalomorphae but your spider appears to be a spot-on match for a California Trapdoor Spider (Bothriocyrtum californicum) and I only see one species in the genus listed for the area so I’m fairly confident that is what you have. Nice find. 🙂
Note to admin.: species needed for Bothriocyrtum californicum.
From the info page for this species on BugGuide.net: “According to Guinness World Records, as of 2009, this is the strongest spider. It has been able to resist a force 38 times its own weight when defending its trapdoor. This equates to a man trying to hold a door closed while it is being pulled on the other side by a small jet plane.(1) Unfortunately, the Guinness book doesn’t mention if it’s the strongest North American spider or if it’s the strongest in the world. Also, one thing to think about is whether or not every spider’s strength has been… Read more »
We just had rain today too and same looking spider was hanging out by our front door to stay out of the rain. Was about 3-4 inches shiny black legs.