What's a poisonous Australian spider doing on my desk?

Factual Questions
1

So, earlier I caught this little bugger hanging above my computer desk that has markings strangely similar to the Australian white-tailed spider. (The spider, not the desk. :D)

There’s a good photo of a white-tailed spider here; the spider I caught looks almost exactly like that. The biggest difference is that the white spot on the tip of my spider’s abdomen is actually a fairly faint gray; but it’s still there, and the exact same shape as the white spot on the spider in that photograph.

The only problem is that the white-tailed spider is native to Australia, and I am in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. So my question is: could this actually be a white-tailed spider? If not, could it be a distant relative, or merely one of nature’s many copycats?

I’d still be kinda confused about those other possibilities, though, since for a spider to evolve similar markings to another, the two would certainly have to share a habitat, right? Ditto for being related - but Australia has been a completely separate continent for hundreds of millions of years. I thought about the possibility of a spider being brought over in a batch of imported fruit or something like that, but I’d be surprised if an Australian spider could survive long enough in this considerably cooler and damper climate to have a real chance of establishing itself here.

Is it possible that this spider’s shape and markings are just a bizarre coincidence?

I’ve got the little bastard in a jar right now; if I get a chance, I’ll take some pictures of it and post them soonish.

(Also, I know the white-tailed spider isn’t really that “poisonous”; I’m just being dramatic. :P)

2

The link you posted does talk about the question of whether or not white-tailed spiders cause long-term necrosis (the link says there isn’t any hard evidence), but that was the worry when I lived in Australia. I’m guessing you have another type of spider that is similar, but maybe the species has made it over to the states. Seattle and southern Australia (New South Wales and Victoria) have similar climates, so I can imagine the spider would be quite happy in Seattle.

Anyway, now that you have him in a jar, you should capture some other spiders to put in the jar for a fight-off. When I found a white-tailed spider in my house in Australia, he made it through about two rounds in the jar, and then he got eaten quickly by the daddy long legs in round three.

-Tofer

3

[QUOTE=Stealth Potato]
(Also, I know the white-tailed spider isn’t really that “poisonous”; I’m just being dramatic. :P)
[/QUOTE]

It is venomous though

4

Wikipedia describes the spider pretty much as your link does. Plus, there’s a cool picture of a bite.
So, in the interest of science, one (you) could experience a bite and compare the result to wiki’s picture. That aught to do it! :wink:
Photos, please.
Peace,
mangeorge

5

[QUOTE=Stealth Potato]
I’d be surprised if an Australian spider could survive long enough in this considerably cooler and damper climate to have a real chance of establishing itself here.
[/QUOTE]
Not all of Australia is sunny beaches and arid desert. As tofergregg says, Seattle would not seem inhospitably cold or wet to a creature from the cooler southern parts of the country.

6

If you are certain that you do not have a North American Bold Jumping Spider, Warning: arachnaphobes, do NOT click, you might want to take your specimen down to the USDA office to let them know that a foreign species has arrived.

7

Or to the the Office of Homeland Security.
Sorry.
How big is it? And is it’s abdomen cylindrical like the spider in the picture?
It is possible that it came in someone’s luggage.

8

[QUOTE=tomndebb]
If you are certain that you do not have a North American Bold Jumping Spider…
[/QUOTE]
What a beautiful animal.

9

[QUOTE=blondebear]
What a beautiful animal.
[/QUOTE]

:eek: Well that’s one way to put it… Me on the other hand, won’t be able to sleep for a few hours.

10

[QUOTE=BrandonR]
:eek: Well that’s one way to put it… Me on the other hand, won’t be able to sleep for a few hours.
[/QUOTE]
You were told to not clickon the links.

We have at least one pet jumping spider in our mailbox every summer. They are not quite friendly, but they are lively, interesting, and (to Deb and me) cute.

11

[QUOTE=tomndebb]
If you are certain that you do not have a North American Bold Jumping Spider, Warning: arachnaphobes, do NOT click, you might want to take your specimen down to the USDA office to let them know that a foreign species has arrived.
[/QUOTE]
Nope, definitely not one of those. (Pics below) I do like jumping spiders, though - they generally stay out of the way, and they do a good job of killing other, more pesky bugs. I wouldn’t go quite so far as to call them “cute,” but they’re definitely more agreeable to look at than other types of spider.

[QUOTE=tofergregg]
Seattle and southern Australia (New South Wales and Victoria) have similar climates, so I can imagine the spider would be quite happy in Seattle.
[/QUOTE]
Huh. I did not know that. Well, I guess a spider migration might be possible after all. Consider my ignorance fought!

[QUOTE=mangeorge]
So, in the interest of science, one (you) could experience a bite and compare the result to wiki’s picture. That aught to do it! :wink:
[/QUOTE]
Hmmmmm. You know, it turns out there are limits to what I’m willing to do in the name of science. :smiley:
Well, as promised, here are some pictures of the little bugger: (Standard warning to arachnophobes - do not click!)

Mystery Spider Photo #1
Note the gray area on the end of its abdomen - faint compared to all the photos of white-tailed spiders I’ve seen, but precisely the same shape. There are also enough small differences in general body shape to make me doubtful, but still pretty damned close. What do you guys think?

Mystery Spider Photo #2
Slightly different angle.

Mystery Spider Photo #3
This is the spider next to a 2 centimeter scale I drew on a sheet of vellum, which puts it at about 15mm total length. Sadly, the fact that it appears to be missing most of a leg in this picture is my fault. It made a run for it down the tablecloth, and I somehow amputated that leg when I tried to catch it with the jar. :frowning: I feel badly for it, but it seems to be able to move well enough on 7 legs, so I think it’ll be okay.
tomndebb: I dunno when I’d be able to track down a USDA office, so I let the little guy go outside after the leg incident. It’s actually not the first spider of this kind that I’ve found - now that I think back, I happened across a similar one last year.

12

I have a friend in Arkansas who described having spiders that sounded remarkably similar to the White Tails we get here. I can’t remember what he called them.

13

[QUOTE=BrandonR]
:eek: Well that’s one way to put it… Me on the other hand, won’t be able to sleep for a few hours.
[/QUOTE]

Then whatever you do don’t watch “Charlottes Web”

What a great film, pity you’ll miss it

14

Is it possible it arrived by ship - hopped on in Oz and hpped off in Seattle?

15

[QUOTE=BrandonR]
:eek: Well that’s one way to put it… Me on the other hand, won’t be able to sleep for a few hours.
[/QUOTE]
Good job too, as they’re well known for jumping up your nose when you’re asleep.

16

[QUOTE=jjimm]
Good job too, as they’re well known for jumping up your nose when you’re asleep.
[/QUOTE]
That’s just not nice!

…Though now that you mention it, there was one time when I found a rather large jumping spider outside, and I decided to lean in for a closer look. I was maybe a foot and a half away from it, and apparently the spider thought I was issuing a challenge or something, because it jumped right on my face! I shook it off in pretty short order, but it was kind of a surreal experience. :eek:

17

[QUOTE=chowder]
Then whatever you do don’t watch “Charlottes Web”

What a great film, pity you’ll miss it
[/QUOTE]

Yes, I saw the previews, shuddered and said “no hwaaaaay!”.

18

[QUOTE=Stealth Potato]
I was maybe a foot and a half away from it, and apparently the spider thought I was issuing a challenge or something, because it jumped right on my face! I shook it off in pretty short order, but it was kind of a surreal experience. :eek:
[/QUOTE]

I am laughing my ass off imagining the spider screaming BANZAI!!!

19

You should take it to a museum. If they positively identify it as a white-tail spider, which seems likely, then there may be some arachnid-related quarantine action taken.

P.S: poison is consumed, venom is injected. These spiders are venomous.

20

[QUOTE=blondebear]
What a beautiful animal.
[/QUOTE]

I agree. Jumping spiders are cute. We get a lot of Zebra Spiders here, which are quite similar in appearance.