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Photo#13443

"Hobo" Spider-Tegenaria agrestis, eye pattern - Eratigena agrestis - Female
Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah, USA
September 19, 2004
Size: 25mm
An older individual found in the basement, fortunately/unfortunately, others have not been found (too many Agelenopsis?). Thanks to Paula E. Cushing in getting to the final ID. Detail of the eye pattern, all eight are really there.

Images of this individual: tag all

Kerry
Are you sure this is a Hobo spider? The eye arrangement looks a little funny to me. Compare with this site. I'm trying to create an eye arrangement image for this genus, but I'm not sure how to move forward with these two conflicting images.

 
Hobo Spider
The hobo spider has 8 eyes. This photo looks like 6 eyes. Possibly due to the angle of the shot? This is dubious at best.

 
Eight eyes
The spider does actually have eight eyes. If you look at the eye close up image you can just see that the AMEs and ALEs are almost joined. It certainly is not a typical eye arrangement for this species. See a typical E. agrestis from the same contributor here

 
Lynette
The eye pattern seemed odd the first time I saw it. Sent the images off to Dr. Cushing with an ID request, T. agrestis, was suggested. A later specimen (the one with the fang extended) was placed in the Denver Museum collection as a Hobo. For now we can call it a Hobo, the sternum and epigynum are consistant with the species.
I'll pull together some other eye pattern images of Utah Agelenidae and post them for you to play with. Also have M and F specimens (preserved) of agrestis that will be shot and posted.
Illustrators (myself included) need to make choices that show a generalized view that unfortunately leaves out the range of possibilities. I'll stop before the illustration vs. photography issue creates a multiple personality situation for me.

 
Thanks Kerry,
I'll be looking forward to the new images.

 
The eyes sure do
look odd. Not so much the arrangement as that two appear to be just plain missing where a hobo spider normally has a pair. That epigynum sure is convincing, though. An anomaly?

 
Not missing...
Just smaller and tucked in close to the other outside eyes (gives the appearance of a single oversized eye). All the other Hobos found have the typical arrangement.

 
atypical
Yes I chalked it up to an atypical individual.

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