That is funny! The term "house spider" is extremely ambiguous and can mean a dozen different spiders across many families depending on where you are. But with the "giant" it's quite specific.
It would be really funny if there was a spider that would only live in giant houses and mansions, but wouldn't bother with smaller ones.
Thanks! And that's a fair question as she was wild caught indoors, and we do have both E. duellica and E. atrica in our area. I have not identified her down to the species level, other than fellow enthusiasts weighing in based on general morphology. For accuracy's sake I should probably have posted her simply as Eratigena sp.
For accuracy’s sake I should probably have posted her simply as Eratigena sp.
Their taxonomy is an absolute mess. All of Eratigena used to be Tegenaria (they are actual anagrams, lazy arachnologists!). But a bunch of species got moved around, split and merged again.
I usually refer to them as "Eratigena in the atrica group". Inside that group you usually need microscopic examination of the genitalia to tell them apart with confidence.
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How big is this giant house?
That is funny! The term "house spider" is extremely ambiguous and can mean a dozen different spiders across many families depending on where you are. But with the "giant" it's quite specific.
It would be really funny if there was a spider that would only live in giant houses and mansions, but wouldn't bother with smaller ones.
Very nice picture!
How did you figure out the specific species?
Thanks! And that's a fair question as she was wild caught indoors, and we do have both E. duellica and E. atrica in our area. I have not identified her down to the species level, other than fellow enthusiasts weighing in based on general morphology. For accuracy's sake I should probably have posted her simply as Eratigena sp.
EDIT fixed!
Their taxonomy is an absolute mess. All of Eratigena used to be Tegenaria (they are actual anagrams, lazy arachnologists!). But a bunch of species got moved around, split and merged again.
I usually refer to them as "Eratigena in the atrica group". Inside that group you usually need microscopic examination of the genitalia to tell them apart with confidence.
Woah, sick
It looks quite healthy!