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Submitted: April 22, 2006
Image Size: 424 KB
Resolution: 1080×1496

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Comments: 13
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Make:FUJIFILM
Model:FinePix S9000
Shutter Speed:1/45 second
Aperture:F/5.6
Focal Length:8 mm
ISO Speed:200
Date Taken:Apr 22, 2006, 6:35:32 PM

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Black Diamondby ~pitbulllady

Photography / Animals, Plants & Nature / Invertebrates

This is a full view of an ENORMOUS wild spider, apparently a female(no obvious enlarged pedipalps)that I discovered living(with another smaller spider, no less)in a crack between two boards on the ceiling of the porch of a small storage building. Yes, it's in my yard. This is the biggest wild spider I've ever seen, and that includes some whopping big Carolina Wolf Spiders, Tegenaria giganticas, Nephila clavipes, and Dolomedes tritons(Three-Striped Fishing Spiders, which DO catch fish). In spite of her shocking size, she was every bit as calm and docile as most of my tarantulas are, so much so that I let her step up on my hand so I could place her on the railing for a better pic. She never once even gave a threat display or showed signs of alarm, but took this whole photo shoot in stride before I replaced her near her home. She filled the palm of my hand, easily as large in diameter, if not bulk, as my adult female Costa Rican Tiger Rumped tarantula(Cyclosternum fasciatum). I am not sure exactly which species she is; she appears to be a Gnaphosid of some sort, though I've never heard of a Gnaphosid THIS huge. She is NOT a Black Widow; that much I do know. I found her to be extremely beautiful, though I have to admit I was intimidated by her a bit, in spite of her docile demeanor, too much so to steady the camera with one hand to take a pic of her sitting on the other one. As soon as I can find out what she and her brown companion are, I will post the updated ID.

pitbulllady

~Beboots Apr 24, 2006 Hobbyist Photographer

Okay, I had to do the conversion in my head, but what I came up with after inches -> cm was "Holy crap! That's a big spider!" O_o; I do home you find out what kind of spider she is - you've piqued my curiosity now!

~pitbulllady Apr 24, 2006

I think that she's a really huge specimen of what we call a "Black Hole Spider" or "Black Funnelweb Spider" around here; Kukulcania hibernalis. I've seen those and caught them, but the one's I've seen are nowhere near as big as she is, and they have these whitish or grayish "leggins" at the base of their legs, which she does not have. They also have some serious "don't-&%$#-with-me" attitudes. HOWEVER, this spider could have recently moulted her old skin, and I know that with my tarantulas, they are often a very different color from their "default" for several days to several weeks after a moult, and their fangs are still "soft" for some time, too, so they couldn't bite even if they wanted to. This spider might have realized her inability to defend herself following a moult, so she was more laid-back than normal. I'm still not 100% certain as to her species, though, but that's the closest thing that I know is native to this area that even comes close to looking like her.

pitbulllady

!VinRed Apr 23, 2006

Absolutely gorgeous specimen. I love the legs on it. You have a wonderful gallery.

Vince

*NeitherSparky Apr 23, 2006

That really is a very cool shot of a cool spider. I'd like to know what she is, too. I won't even try to id her myself.

~pitbulllady Apr 23, 2006

I've posted the pics on Bugguide.net, but still haven't gotten a reply. I cannot find any on their site that look like her. The closest thing is what we call a Black Funnelweb spider, Kukulcania hibernalis, but even the females don't get anywhere NEAR this big, and they have distinct pale gray or whitish bands at the base of their legs. They also have nasty dispositions and are usually quick to put on a threat display and will follow up with a bite, if that doesn't work. This spider I photographed was as laid-back as my Brazilian Black tarantula, even after having been poked right out of her home by a twig.

pitbulllady

*NeitherSparky Apr 24, 2006

...Any chance she's a displaced (is that the right word?) species? Maybe she's not from "'round these here parts"?

~pitbulllady Apr 24, 2006

I've gotten some replies from my inquiry on Bugguide.net, and I am almost-not 100%, but ALMOST-convinced that she is an unusually large Kukulcania hibernalis. Af for the discrepancies in the coloring on the legs, and the temperament, this spider could have just moulted, so her colors would not yet be true, and spiders of this size take a few days to "harden" up after a moult, and cannot bite during that time because their fangs are still soft. They seem to know this and will very much more lethargic than usual. I might try looking her up in a week or so(I know the brown one is still hanging out at the same spot)and see if she has developed the characteristic while leg bands and nasty attitude that I've come to expect from K. hibernalis, even though the biggest specimens of that species I've found have been less than half her size, and they are still big spiders!

Many years ago, my great-grandfather ran a country store on this property, and tarantulas were common in shipments of tropical fruit that he sold, and so were snakes. I can recall several Tree Boas meeting a very unpleasant end on the floor of that little store when I was a very young child, when crates of fruit were opened, along with at least one "Oropel" Eyelash Viper baby, but the tarantulas(mostly Avicularias, or "Pinktoes", were usually too fast and would escape. For many years, there was a small colony of large Avics, probably Avicularia urticans, that survived there. The last one was seen in the early '90', and was initially mistaken for a RAT by my uncle, but neither the tarantulas nor their distinctive tube webs have been seen since, so I guess they finally died out. What I would not give to have my own little colony of Avicularia now...

pitbulllady

~Undeadgoth Apr 23, 2006

very beautifull photo!! cool capture!!

~Beboots Apr 23, 2006 Hobbyist Photographer

Wow... Can I ask exactly how large she was? I can't tell scale from the picture ... but to get a photo that large and clear, she must be huge!

Very cool.

~pitbulllady Apr 23, 2006

She is approximately 3 1/2 inches in diameter. She completely filled the palm area of my hand, which is the same area filled by my adult female Costa Rican Tiger-Rump tarantula, although the tarantula is heavier and chunkier with shorter legs, proportionately.

pitbulllady

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