
Slater-eating spider
I used my husband's I phone to snap this spider quickly...not being savvy in that department, it seems I somehow also applied a filter! Hopefully, the details are clear enough still.
Thought to have been introduced into Australia from Europe and only occurring in the south-eastern part of the country.
The Slater-eating spider gets its name from its preference for woodlice or slaters (Isopoda), which it grasps with its specially elongated fangs. Female 15 mm.
The woodlouse spider, "Dysdera crocata", is a species of spider that preys primarily upon woodlice. Other common names refer to variations on the common name of its prey, including woodlouse hunter, sowbug hunter, sowbug killer, pillbug hunter and slater spider.
comments (2)