''Stanwellia grisea'', also known as the Melbourne trapdoor spider, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of mygalomorph spider in the

Pycnothelidae ''Pycnothelidae'' is a family of mygalomorph spiders first described in 1917. It was downgraded to a subfamily of the funnel-web trapdoor spiders in 1985, but returned to family status in 2020. Genera , the World Spider Catalog accepted the foll ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It was described in 1901 by British arachnologist

Henry Roughton Hogg Henry Roughton Hogg (9 February 1846 – 30 November 1923) was a British amateur arachnologist. Biography Born in Stockwell, Surrey, he attended Uppingham School from 1859-1862, and later studied at Christ's College, Cambridge, where he obtained ...

Description

Female spiders grow up to 35 mm in body length; males to 25 mm. The body is brown; the abdomen may be paler with a darker, rib-like pattern on the upper surface. Large cheliceral fangs are displayed when the spider feels threatened.

Distribution and habitat

The spiders are found in southern Victoria in tall open forest habitats. Their range includes the environs of the city of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and the Grampian Mountains. The type locality is

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...

Behaviour

The spiders are

fossorial A fossorial () animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily, but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, meerkats, and mole salamanders, as well as many beetles, wasps, and bees. Prehistoric eviden ...

, terrestrial

predators Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

. Both males and females dig individual

silk Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...

-lined burrows, up to 40 cm deep in soft earth, with silk threads radiating from the entrances. They ambush insects and other small prey at night from the burrow entrances which, despite the common name, do not have trapdoors. During autumn and early winter, males leave their burrows and wander widely in search of mates.

Interactions with humans

The spiders, especially the roaming males, can be encountered in gardens and urban areas. Their fangs are capable of delivering a deep and painful bite, which may cause a local reaction.

References

grisea Spiders of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Arthropods of Victoria (state) Spiders described in 1901 Taxa named by Henry Roughton Hogg {{Pycnothelidae-stub