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Comments & ID Thoughts
Spent a full day in research to ID this unusual species and despite stumping several 'experts' I'm left almost 90% sure its a species of Scytodes thoracic, otherwise known as the spitting spider, interesting in only having 6 eyes this is obviously the local species, I observed behavior similar to what is described for the spitting spider in measuring up an aggressor or prey with it's front leg/s and taking up a stance to 'spit' it's poison laced web, I did not confiorm any actual web spitting but remain confident in my ID. I have neither the courage or expertise to identify anything beyond that if you wanna know it's sex ask it I'm not going nearer than my curiosity allows being an arachnophobe
- Submitted by:
- Submitted: Nov 20, 2018
- Photographed: Nov 20, 2018
- Spider: Unidentified
- Location: Darling, South Africa
- Spotted Indoors: Sink or bathtub
- Found in web?: No
- Attributes:
See my 2nd photo submission of the same creature but a bit clearer, as per my description I believe it to be the local species of Scytodes thoracic or spitting spider but I could be mistaken
I think you have done a pretty good job of getting close with this ID. I agree it is one of the Spitting Spiders in the family Scytodidae. It also appears to be one of the Scytodes species. I’m not sure though about S. thoracica. S. thoracica is native to Mediterranean area of Europe and North Africa and eastward across Asia to China and Japan. It has also been introduced into North America, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand. It is widespread and tends to get transported around a lot, so is the familiar species that is often used to represent… Read more »
Thanks for weighing in and helping to clear this up, if Im going to be tormented by something evil I tend to want to know what I’m dealing with, that said I am a humane arachnaphobe I very carefully removed the offending entity to a happier place in the garden, delighted that its out of the house and that I survived and correctly ID’d the spider.
I agree it’s a male from looking at the other picture. It’s not s.thoracica, which has dark banding on the legs. This one only has dark joints, and looks more like the s.univittata