Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Photo#381331
Dysdera crocata

Dysdera crocata
Concord, Contra Costa County, California, USA
April 1, 2010
im hoping its a female

Moved
Moved from ID Request.

Try this
I have pretty good results putting the spider in a thin clear plastic bag, flipping it upside-down, gently smoothing the bag to remove wrinkles, and shooting a few shots until you don't get any glare from the bag. My camera often isn't good enough to ID to species this way, but immauture/mature female determination works pretty well.

 
Good technique, but...
...Dysdera are haplogyne spiders (all the "pieces & parts" are inside the abdomen) and the females' gonopore (tiny opening) is tough to see, even as an adult. It can be a little swollen in the area between the book lungs, but that's about all you'll see. The males are easier to determine... they have palps like any other male would.

 
I never noticed!!!
Everyone confuses them with Trachelas so much I never realized how far apart they are!

 
I know...it's weird, isn't it?!
They look so much alike, but are actually very different from one another at the same time. It's much easier to see somethin' "under the hood" of a female Trachelas... as you already know (there are some great images in the guide from you)!