''Missulena occatoria'', known as the red-headed mouse spider, is a species of spider found in
Southern Australia,
[ from open forest to desert shrubland. It is the largest (females up to 24 mm, males up to 12 mm) and most widely distributed ''Missulena'' species, because the spiderlings are wind-dispersed (]ballooning Ballooning may refer to:
* Hot air ballooning
* Balloon (aeronautics)
* Ballooning (spider)
* Ballooning degeneration, a disease
* Memory ballooning
See also
* Balloon (disambiguation)
A balloon is a flexible container for (partially or fully) co ...
). Normally this only occurs with araneomorph
The Araneomorphae (also called the Labidognatha) are an infraorder of spiders. They are distinguishable by chelicerae (fangs) that point diagonally forward and cross in a pinching action, in contrast to the Mygalomorphae (tarantulas and their ...
spiders, mygalomorph
The Mygalomorphae, or mygalomorphs, are an infraorder of spiders, and comprise one of three major groups of living spiders with over 3000 species, found on all continents except Antarctica. Many members are known as trapdoor spiders due to t ...
spiders normally disperse by walking. ''Missulena'' venom may be very toxic, but few cases of serious envenomation have been recorded. Most recorded bites only caused minor effects, with Australian funnel-web spider antivenom having proved effective as a treatment.[Australian Museum]
Red-headed Mouse Spider, ''Missulena occatoria''
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The spiders dig a burrow up to 55 cm deep, with two trapdoors.
While the females are black with a red tinge, the males have a bright red head and jaws, and a gunmetal blue-black abdomen
The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the to ...
.
Taxonomy
''M. occatoria'' was first described by Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1805. Some confusion exists between this species and '' M. insignis''. For example, H. Womersley in 1943 regarded ''Actinopus formosus'' as a synonym of ''M. occatoria'',[ whereas ]Barbara York Main
Barbara Anne York Main (27 January 1929 – 14 May 2019) Ann Jones (2019"Barbara York Main, Australia's spider woman and Wheatbelt advocate, author and poet dies"''Off Track'', Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Published May 23, 2019. Acces ...
in 1985 treated it as a synonym of ''M. insignis'',[ the position adopted by the ]World Spider Catalog
The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...
.[ She considered that Womersley had partly confused ''M. occatoria'' and ''M. insignis'', with ''M. occatoria'' only occurring in eastern Australia.][ According to Framenau et al., the two cannot be differentiated based on the original description.][
]
References
External links
Information and pictures of ''M. occatoria''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2239865
occatoria
Spiders of Australia
Spiders described in 1805
Taxa named by Charles Athanase Walckenaer