spider - Cercidia prominens

Yes, Cercidia prominens. In Dondale & Redner (2003) they cite Levi (1975a) as being of the opinion that this is an introduced species, due to its "spotty and limited range".

Specimen: kmp-06307

… Kevin Pfeiffer, 16 November, 2010 - 3:00pm

Moved

Moved from Spiders.
John, thanks for the ID. I'll have to find another one and get a better picture. It wouldn't stay still for a second. I found it by sweeping low vegetation at the edge of a river. Now it's saved for the next shipment going out to Kevin.

… tom murray, 20 May, 2010 - 7:28am

I uploaded pictures of my specimen for comparison. Does yours have the stout spines on Leg II? I think I see them in your picture, but I'm not sure.

… John Sloan, 20 May, 2010 - 3:40pm

stout spines

John, I uploaded a picture of the front 2 legs, and it looks like the spines are there on the second leg.

… tom murray, 20 May, 2010 - 5:16pm

Great! I'm going to keep an eye out for webs from this species, and maybe I'll find a female. Apparently, they build close to the ground, among grass and vegetation.

… John Sloan, 20 May, 2010 - 8:53pm

Hi, Tom,

I caught a look-alike to this spider last spring about this time, and it turned out to be an orb weaver, Cercidia prominens (Araneidae), the only species in NA. There should be some macrosetae on the front of the abdomen (too small to be visible in your picture), and leg IV should be longer than leg I (Dondale, et al); the abdomen is supposed to have a thin scutum, but it's very difficult to see, even under magnification.

Nice find. I've only come across the one specimen before.

… John Sloan, 20 May, 2010 - 12:25am