this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2024
47 points (88.5% liked)

What is this thing?

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About 1.5 to 2 inches across. Found in Santa Cruz, CA

Edit: Thanks all for your responses!

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[–] [email protected] 25 points 5 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, thought this too. Identified a similair looking spider with an app once.

Big nope vibes.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The bite like wolfies? Because I had one hit me like when bee sting when I scared her up.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah, probably. A bee sting is a pretty good comparison for spider bites in general, though with a very low chance of alergic reaction compared to bees or wasps. And that's really where the danger is.

Otherwise it will just hurt for a bit and then go away.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

Bees hurt way worse than these IMO. But I'm possibly mildly allergic to bees.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

Thanks, that was my assumption as well from some minor googling but wanted to get another pair (or 3) of eyes on it

[–] [email protected] 24 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

I just got a reply back from a buddy that is an actual publish arachnologist and he confirms it's Zoropsidae (the false wolf spiders, and the family including the widley suggested Titiotus).

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

Thanks, I also thought it was a wolf or false wolf as well from some minor googling. I appreciate you reaching out to your friend for the expert opinion!

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Thanks for sharing this! I quite enjoyed it.

The choice to

show spoilermuffle the microphone when the spider covered its head with sand

was a brilliant touch.

P.S. I wish Lemmy supported >!inline spoilers!<. The current spoiler markdown is pretty clunky.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

Ha! I thought it was on a paper towel or something until it actually moved the sand at the end.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago

Looks like a wolf or false wolf spider. Good spiderbro.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Arthropods aren't my forte, and its hard to judge without a sense of scale and/or a look at the eye layout. So someone more knowledgeable should correct me. That said, it I looks to me like a Titiotus. Various species of which call California home.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Thanks, I didn't realize how varied eye layouts were in spiders otherwise I would have tried for a better pic from another angle. Hoped the rough size estimate would be sufficent but I understand how a picture with a banana (or similar) for scale would be more helpful. Appreciate the response and it seems the crowd has spoken -- false wolf spider! (or perhaps regular wolf spider but either way is good enough for me)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

or perhaps regular wolf spider

Nope, easily exluded by what you can see in the pictures, by the eyes. The entire cephalothorax region is wrong for a wolf spider. I was first stuck on Gnaphosidae.

And your picture was brilliant. You won't believe the shitty pictures some people expect you to give an ID from. And you gave a proper size (though we prefere body lenght over leg span and centimetres) and a location.

This post was perfect. Even got the "oh a brown spider, must be a brown recluse" comment ...

Join [email protected] maybe?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

Your size description was good, I'm just terrible at imagining sizes well. But I get why getting it to stand next to a coin or something for scale was not an option. I love spiders, but they don't take direction.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

My best guess so far would be Titiotus sp., one of the false wolf spiders.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Thank you! I thought probably wolf at first and only learned about the existence of false-wolf when googling.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

Don't have an answer, but hope things are going well. I miss living there.