I found this spider crawling on my tile floor. We live in rural central Virginia. I’ve found spider species with similar looks but nothing exactly like this. Its size was less than 1 inch. Can anyone identify it?
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$\begingroup$ Some sort of jumping spider (Family: Salticidae) $\endgroup$– JulPalAug 16, 2018 at 11:55
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$\begingroup$ Could be Thiodina sylvana... But I'm not sure. Thiodina occurs in Virginia. Take a look at this picture: flickr.com/photos/52450054@N04/6304831786 but be careful, it shows a male. Females tend to be more brownish $\endgroup$– JulPalAug 16, 2018 at 12:13
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2 Answers
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I agree with JulPal's comment from August. It looks very much like a male Thiodina (now renamed Colonus) sylvanus. As with many Salticids, the females look rather different, and it turns out that there is apparently a similar species of Colonus in the area, which can be distinguished in the field by the fact that the white mark on the carapace is not a block so much as a thick longitudinal line. I attach an image from Tree of Life, with the link below:
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It is Tarantula which comprise a group of large and often hairy arachnids belonging to the Theraphosidae family of spiders
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1$\begingroup$ It would be good to explain how you know it is a tarantula. Maybe based on on the position of the chelicerae? I am surprised that there are tarantula as far North as Virginia. $\endgroup$– Remi.bAug 15, 2018 at 14:34
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$\begingroup$ It doesn’t look at all like a Tarantula to me. It’s size was less than 1 inch. $\endgroup$– PenniAug 15, 2018 at 17:26
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$\begingroup$ @Penni You should be mentioning that in the question. From this zoom, I would have guessed that it was much bigger. $\endgroup$ Aug 15, 2018 at 18:24
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$\begingroup$ Yes, I should have.. my bad. This is my first post, ever, so I’m a newbie. Thanks for your help, @TheLastWord. 😁 $\endgroup$– PenniAug 15, 2018 at 18:39
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$\begingroup$ It is not a Mygalomorph - the eyes are in the front of the head, with two large ones right on the forward 'face', like a Jumping Spider, rather than clustered in a turret atop the round, flat carapace; the abdomen is long and teardrop-shaped, like a Jumping Spider, rather than large and bulky, with two obvious 'exhaust-pipe' spinnerets at the back; and the legs are short and stocky, like a Jumping Spider, rather than long and thick and very hairy. $\endgroup$ Nov 13, 2018 at 15:06