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Photo#348694
 Hacklemesh Weaver - Amaurobius ferox - male

Hacklemesh Weaver - Amaurobius ferox - Male
Kentucky, USA
October 25, 2009
Size: 1 cm abdomen to palp
I'm new to spider bug fun. I received a bad spider bite (specialist identified wound as Brown Recluse) and I have since collected a number of spiders on sticky boards in my house. Lots of Rabid Wolf and Wood Louse Hunters, but this one I haven't identified. Obviously not a Recluse (and I found none yet). Maybe a Tegenaria House? Thanks!

Images of this individual: tag all
 Hacklemesh Weaver - Amaurobius ferox - male  Hacklemesh Weaver - Amaurobius ferox - male  Hacklemesh Weaver - Amaurobius ferox - male  Hacklemesh Weaver - Amaurobius ferox - male Amaurobid - Amaurobius ferox - male  Hacklemesh Weaver - Amaurobius ferox - male

Moved
Moved from ID Request, as per Kevin's ID on this image.

Can you also provide a closer
Can you also provide a closer dorsal view of the abodmen? We're trying to determine whether there is (was) a dorsal pattern there. How long do you think he was in your trap?

-K

 
Dorsal Abdomen
When I first found the spider on my stickyboard ( I check them each morning), I hadn't time to investigate it so I put the stickyboard in the freezer right away and photographed it a few days later. Those photos were poor and later it was placed in alcohol. The photos submitted first were the post alcohol soaked spider. Unfortunately, the abdomen shrunk in the alcohol, so the only photo showing ab coloration is the older one; I posted it today along with a cropped closeup.
A closeup lens is on its way to my house, so I hope to have better photos next time.
This is fascinating and y'all are GREAT! Thanks for the replies.
-Jim

Amaurobius similis??
With that long, thumblike tibial process on the retrolateral side, I wonder if this might be the Holarctic species Amaurobius similis?

 
You might be right
If anyone wants to take a look, I found some Amaurobius similis palp photos online at http://www.spiderling.de/arages/Fotogalerie/Galerie_Amaurobius.htm (scroll down to find similis males). All the Amaurobius species' palps almost look the same to me. But this website has a few species for comparison by a more trained eye.

I really have a hard time with palp identification. I wish this was a female. :)

[edit] I also read that A. similis is a common species inside homes.

 
And... Paquin & Dupérré (Sp
And... Paquin & Dupérré (Spiders of Quebec, 2003) include it as a species.

Well, we'll probably never know for certain, but we can perhaps say Amaurobius cf. similis.

-K

 
I've been wanting to know...
...whether I've been using that abbreviation correctly. 'cf.' basically means 'something like, or similar to; pay attention to this species in particular; but we're not really sure', right?? So it would mean 'Amaurobius species that is similar to or might be similis'?

 
..
Here is an explanation given by Marco Laserda:
The International Code for Zoological Nomenclature is not a
complicated book to be used, and it says:
- aff. = affinis, to species you know are distinct, but closely
related. (ex: Apistogramma aff. agassizii, means a fish you know is
NOT agassizii, but a related species to it)
- cf. = confer, to species you supose to be same. (ex: Apistogramma
cf. agassizii, means a fish you believe to be agassizii, but needs
better scientific determination to confirm)

-K

 
Thank you, Kevin!
^

 
Amaurobius
In comparing the spider above with Amaurobius similis here, it appears that the markings on the abdomen don't match. the spider above has a light mark mid dorsal and Amaurobius similis has a dark mark surrounded by a light mark. However, I guess we're not sure the pattern/colors on the spider above are an accurate representation of a live spider.

 
> the spider above has a ligh
> the spider above has a light mark mid dorsal and
> Amaurobius similis has a dark mark surrounded by a light mark.

But this appears to vary. Lissner has specimens where the heart mark is relatively light and then surrounded by darker markings. And the images here leave a lot to be desired.

The question, for me, would be: what are the alternatives? A. ferox has a similar rounded process and is also a Holarctic species (of sort). But it's not in the Quebec book, and A. similis is the more synanthropic (around people and their dwellings) species, I believe.

-Kevin

 
Amaurobius ferox??
The quality of my future submissions should be better as I learn how and what to do. I held a magnifying glass against my camera lens and photographed the palp and uploaded it.

Your suggestion of a Amaurobius ferox got me searching and comparing photos to my dead spider using a magnifying lens. In person, the spider does not look like the similis pictures of abdomen markings. Not being familiar with this process, I don't know which sites should be considered credible.

The canadianarachnology site has a description that seems to fit, especially the "dark grey opisthosoma and indistinct posterior chevrons".
http://www.canadianarachnology.org/data/spiders/22605

scroll down on this page to the photos of the Amaurobius ferox. I think the site is in Europe, but aren't the pictures similar?
http://www.jorgenlissner.dk/Amaurobiidae.aspx

scroll down on this page to the diagram of the Amaurobius ferox abdomen and leg
http://www.xs4all.nl/~ednieuw/Spiders/Amaurobiidae/Amaurobiidae.htm

Dr. Richard Bradley of Ohio State University lists Amaurobius ferox as an Ohio spider (I live near Cincinnati, Ohio)
http://www.marion.ohio-state.edu/spiderweb/ProvisionalSpiderList.htm

 
..
Amaurobius ferox? Yes, then, possibly. And that is as far as we'll probably get. Your images are not so bad, all things considered. It's just that to accurately identify most spiders to species level, a detailed view of very small bits and pieces of the genitalia is necessary. Even a flat image is not always sufficient, as the 3-D structure, which can be rather complex, is often important.

-K

 
Thanks to all!
It was a real pleasure to post the spider photos and read all the comments. Thanks to each of you. I have started to collect live spiders and will submit some photos when my new closeup lens arrives. THIS IS REALLY COOL!!!

Not Tegenaria
This is an adult male amaurobiid (Hacklemesh Weaver).

Amaurobiidae?
I'm not sure, maybe someone will see something in the palp shots. It doesn't look like any Tegenaria I've seen.

 
Oops
Sorry, Lynette. I hate it when I take too long to type the comment and then it ends up being a double ID. We both must have looked at this exact same page at the exact same time. Of ALL the minutes in the day...strange how things happen that way. :)

 
Double IDs
Hey at least that way we know we agree!

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