Smallest Mature Male? - Trogloneta paradoxa - Eugene, Lane County, Oregon, USA February 13, 2019 Size: ~0.65mm
Smaller than a Araneus diadematus babies that I've seen before. My god was this thing small beyond belief. I found it hanging off some Lobaria lichen at the park. It was raining, so I thought there would be something hiding underneath such large leafy lichen. I collected this expecting it to be immature and not even identifiable, but was surprised to see the swollen palps.
The abdomen was slightly taller than it was long. There's no way for me to get better pictures than this one. If someone wants this spider in order to do just that, let me know and I can stick it in ethanol, as it's currently still with me. It's so small that I'm not sure what it can even eat, coupled with the fact that it's a mature male, I reckon it'll probably not live a lot longer. With it being so small I don't really know how to keep it alive other than just to leave it alone in a tiny container.
Images of this individual: tag all Contributed by Nick Wiser on 13 February, 2019 - 8:59pm Last updated 28 April, 2019 - 6:05pm |