Nov 9, 2007

Camping Outside LA

I've got another spider ID for y'all. I know it can be very difficult to narrow down the species without a full dissection, but this info might help: Jenni found this on her tent while camping just outside LA in California. When it spied Jenni taking a photo of it, it posed for the camera. It's eight feet tall, it can fly, it's fluent in most of the classical languages, and it can grant wishes (but only if rubbed the right way). I hope that helps.

Cross your fingers, Jenni. There are some pretty talented people out there who might be able to identify it for us.


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like a classic Phidippus audax--the Bold Jumping Spider:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phidippus_audax

They're one of my favorite jumping spiders--I try to avoid killing them, because they're as bold as their name suggests, and they go after big bugs. So I have NO roaches in my house, and very few scorpions!

--TwoDragons

Anonymous said...

Haha, yeah it was pretty bold alright. Just about jumped right at me! And it was huge! :o(

Jenni

Jade said...

denita- You nailed the genus, but I'm not certain on the species. Sometimes those can be tricky from photos.

I love jumping spiders. They really amaze me. They're as smart as a mouse, which is amazing for their brain size. They also seem to speak in a form of sign language with their pedipalps. Way cool critter. They also have the cutest eyes! :)

Arachnophile said...

Jumpers are like the Teddy-Bears of the spider world. Gorgeous. I agree on the genus and I'll do some poking around but it is SO hard to find out species.

What a gorgeous, GORGEOUS, spider!

Christina Acker said...

Aww He kind of looks rediculous. Are those his teeth? Did he get them bejewelled? ...and blue eyes with eyebrows? Nuts!

Anonymous said...

This critted looks like he's been tagged by some L.A. street gang. Those are colors only found in cans of spray paint!

Anonymous said...

Okay. This thing is cute in a fuzzy "augh get it off me!" sort of way. We don't have em here in Minnesota. Do they make good pets? I'd think they'd need a huuuuge aquarium thingie since they like to leap tall buildings in a single bound etc...

Sherry SofN : )

Nebulous Grey said...

Wait wait, they're as smart as a MOUSE?
Seriously?
Man, my grade in this class is going dooown...
*opens up five different windows to research this guy* Heh.

Arachnophile said...

It's true and the Portia spiders who hunt other spiders are crazy-smart. :D

If these spiders teamed up with octopods - they'd conquer us in a heartbeat.