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I found this small, black, spider with a yellow mark at the top of its abdomen, crawling on my desk in my office (located in the Lower Hudson valley in NY). I have never seen a spider like this before.

Black hairy spider with yellow mark on top of abdomen

What is this spider, and is it native to NY, or is it an invasive species?

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    $\begingroup$ It is hard to see in the picture, but did the spider have 3 distinctive yellow marks in its abdomen. If so, it could be a jumping spider. $\endgroup$
    – Imtiaz Raqib
    Apr 24, 2017 at 19:33
  • $\begingroup$ I did some searching on line, and see it looks like phidippus audax, but it didn't seem to do any jumping. $\endgroup$
    – lzam
    Apr 24, 2017 at 19:33
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    $\begingroup$ Jumping spiders are the largest family of spiders on Earth; now that you've seen one, I'm pretty sure you'll notice them around. And they almost all look like this, but with different coloring, sizing, and back leg modifications. And, yes, they can and do jump when they need to, though it's more like a hop. A scary hop, when they are trying to scare you off. They make me jump. $\endgroup$
    – anongoodnurse
    Apr 24, 2017 at 20:13
  • $\begingroup$ If one of the answers below have answered your query, consider accepting it by clicking the green checkmark, giving you and the other user some reputation points. This aids in closing the question as solved. There is no obligation to do it either. $\endgroup$
    – Imtiaz Raqib
    Apr 26, 2017 at 3:00

2 Answers 2

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It resembles a juvenile Phidippus audax, of the family Salticidae.

Spider

Image Source: SpiderZule

According to Wikipedia >>

They are typically black with a pattern of spots and stripes on their abdomen and legs. Often these spots are orange-tinted in juveniles, turning white as the spider matures.

Phidippus audax is a common jumping spider in North America and definitely not an invasive species.

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  • $\begingroup$ Are the number of spots on the abdomen variable? I am sure the one in my picture had only one, not three like the one in the image you provided. $\endgroup$
    – lzam
    Apr 25, 2017 at 14:23
  • $\begingroup$ @lzam There are varying patterns for the distinctive markings, ranging from strokes to spots. Most commonly observed are a collection of 3 spots with one of them being bigger than the rest of them. I cannot be sure, but maybe the number and type of spots change during maturation - this guess can be made because the color of their spots does change on maturation. Again, I could be wrong. $\endgroup$
    – Imtiaz Raqib
    Apr 25, 2017 at 17:56
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It is the Bold jumper, Phidippus audax. The “Bold Jumper” is one of the largest and common species of jumping spider in North America. The spider is mostly black with a white, orange, or red triangular patch in the center of its abdomen.

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