ID this spider please.

[Lorgakor]

I found this spider living inside the cage of my Grammostola pulchra. When I first found it in there I fed it a cricket which it went for immediately. During feeding last night I noticed that it had moulted in the cage, so I fed it again and it attacked the cricket right away again. The spider is maybe 1-1.5cm legspan. It has made quite a bit of webbing in there, but along the substrate mostly. It stays on its side of the cage and Loki (G. pulchra) mostly stays on his, though I have seen him sitting near the spider. I'm hoping I can find out what it is and make sure there is no danger to my tarantula.

You can see it webbing up the cricket in the first picture. It is a neat little guy.
http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/3126/dsc06722akd9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/5391/dsc06723bqk4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Venom]

Looks steatoda-ish to me.

Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable having anything with venom in a T tank except the T that lives there.

[Arachnophilist]

I agree it looks like a steatoda. I will look into them more and see if I can find a match.

EDIT* okay well I checked the Neartic spider database and it matched up to a steatoda grossa. check it out! it says that October is the time to find them out and about.


http://canadianarachnology.dyndns.org/data/spiders/8055#image

[Lorgakor]

Thanks Chris, I think you are right. It looks pretty much exactly like that. I am going to try to get better pictures tonight, those ones were very washed out.

[Arachnophilist]

Thanks Chris, I think you are right. It looks pretty much exactly like that. I am going to try to get better pictures tonight, those ones were very washed out.

Hey your welcome! but now the Steatoda grossa I have as a pet is obviously mislabeled in the book I have!! hah! doesnt look anything like that! how big is it?

[Lorgakor]

Most of the pictures I see of this species are of very dark, almost black spiders. Sometimes with no markings on the abdomen at all, just glossy black like a widow. My thoughts are that maybe this one is still quite young, maybe it will become darker with age. There are much larger, black ones living in the walls and ceiling of my house, so my thoughts of this being a juvenile seem possible. Plus it may not have darkened completely after the moult.
It is maybe 1-1.5 cm.

[Arachnophilist]

yes true enough.. mine looks like a widow without the hourglass. and it does look very fresh in your pics!

[lucanidae]

Mature male Steatoda perhaps?

[Glen Southern]

I'd say mature male Steatoda paykulliana. Mine looks exactly like that. I can photograph him if you need to compare.

[Arachnophilist]

I'd say mature male Steatoda paykulliana. Mine looks exactly like that. I can photograph him if you need to compare.

I dont think we have the Steatoda paykulliana in Vancouver BC. its European isnt it? and sometimes mistaken for Latrodectus tredecimguttatus? or at least thats what I found.. The Steatoda grossa is similar but lacking red marks.