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ANIMAL SPECIES:Trapdoor Spiders

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Most trapdoor spiders are misleadingly named, as not all species make a door for their burrows. These highly camouflaged entrances are almost undetectable, unless the door is open.

Identification

Trapdoor spiders have short, blunt spinnerets. Males usually have a small double spur halfway along their first leg. Females are larger than males, and tend to be harder to identify to species level. These spiders tend to be quite timid, although the male may rear up if threatened.

The common name covers several families of spiders, including the Idiopidae, Actinopodidae, Ctenizidae, Migidae and Cyrtaucheniidae. The Brown Trapdoor (Misgolas sp) and the Spotted Trapdoor (Aganippe sp) Spiders belong to the family Idiopidae. They include a wide variety of types, many of which are adapted to drier habitats.

Brown Trapdoor Spiders are dull brown spiders with a cover of paler gold hairs on carapace ("dusty appearance"), which is usually weakly arched in side profile. There are often pale bars across the abdomen. Males have thick 'boxing glove' palps. Brown Trapdoor spider eyes are arranged in two compact rows.

Sigillate Trapdoor Spiders are brown spiders with a strongly arched glossy carapace and 4 - 6 hairless spots (sigillae) on top of the abdomen. Their eyes are arranged in three distinct rows.

Spiders commonly mistaken for Trapdoors include: Funnel-web Spiders and Mouse Spiders. Also, as there are several families of Trapdoor Spiders, identification to species level can be difficult without a detailed key.

Size range

1.5 cm - 3 cm in body length

Similar Species

Funnel-web Spiders and Mouse Spiders.

Distribution

Australia-wide.

Behaviour and adaptations

Life cycle

The female will lay her eggs several months after mating, and protects them within her burrow. When the juveniles have hatched, they remain for several months before dispersing on the ground. They will then make their own miniature burrows. Each time the spider grows bigger, it has to widen its burrow and, in the door-building species, add another rim to the door. In undamaged trapdoors, annual concentric rings can be seen.

Trapdoors have a long life span, between 5 to 20 years, and take several years to reach maturity. Females stay in or near their burrows, whereas males leave their burrows once mature, and go in search of a mate.

Mating and reproduction

Mature male Trapdoor Spiders wander during humid weather in search of a mate. Mating takes place within the female's burrow. The male usually escapes being eaten in order to mate with several females, before dying.

Living with us

Management

In urban areas Brown Trapdoor Spiders probably play an important role in controlling garden pests, and since they are not considered to be a major threat to humans, it is best just to leave them alone.

Danger to humans and first aid

Brown Trapdoor Spiders are often mistaken for Funnel-web spiders but their bites are not dangerous. Local pain and swelling may occur. Sigillate Trapdoor Spider bites may also cause local pain and swelling. There is one report of unspecified 'severe effects' from a Sigillate Trapdoor Spider bite.

Seek medical attention if symptoms persist. Collect spider for a positive identification.

Classification

Family:
Idiopidae
Superfamily:
Idiopoidea
Infraorder:
Fornicephalae
Suborder:
Mygalomorphae
Order:
Araneae
Class:
Arachnida
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Kingdom:
Animalia

What does this mean?


Dr Mike Gray
Last Updated: 1 June 2011

18 comments

Louise Carter STAFF

Louise Carter
10.06 AM, 01 June 2011

Hi Wendy, The spider you found under your tent looks like a Badge Huntsman spider.  Badge Huntsman spiders (Neosparassus species) are usually fawn or grey on top, with distinctive colour combinations of black, white, orange or yellow under the abdomen (the 'badge') and colour bands on the underside of the front legs. Be careful with these spiders as they can give a painful bite.

Wendy Gwynn

Wendington
9.02 PM, 16 February 2011

Hi! Can anyone identify this spider please? We found it under our tent when we were packing up after camping in Kakadu, NT. I'd say it's body length was around 1" (2.5cm). Our tour guide didn't know what it was, but he poked it with a stick and, rather than attack, it ran away. Reading the info on this website i'd guess that it's a Trapdoor, but not being an expert in these things it woud be nice to know for sure. So, if anyone has any ideas, please let me know! Thanks.

Comment Attachment

Graham Milledge STAFF

Graham Milledge
1.06 PM, 16 June 2010

Hi Darrell,

Judging by the size of the palps, I'd say your spider is a male Trapdoor Spider, possibly a species of Misgolas or Arbanitis. Most mygalomorph (trapdoors, funnel-webs etc.) spiders will rear up when threatened.

Graham Milledge STAFF

Graham Milledge
3.06 PM, 15 June 2010

It's not easy to identify a spider from it's burrow. Funnel-webs usually have trip lines radiating from the burrow entrance and prefer sheltered locations rather than open situations like lawns. It sounds as though your burrows have more likely been made by trapdoor spiders. The only way to be certain is have one of the spiders identified by an expert arachnologist.

Darrell Armstrong

Bronson95
7.05 PM, 07 May 2010

Hi all, can anyone identify this fella I found the other night after a drizzly Brisbane Autumn day? I'm in two minds if he is a brown trapdoor or Hadronyche Infensa. He was in our dog runs, in a fully enclosed kitchen galley room not attached to our house. This room has a small drain outlet in the centre. I covered him with a clear 4 litre plastic container and observed his reaction as I slid the container towards me. He raised himself to strike as funnelwebs do, but this was more as a defensive measure. I have read that trapdoors are capable of the same. I did not prod or provoke him with any object, but whenever the container was slid along the floor, he would assume the position. He definately has 'boxing glove' shaped palps and I can't see any sign of spurs on the second leg. His colouring which I thought on the night was almost black appears to be a dark brown and lighter underneath. He isn't what you would term hairy as in tarantulas, but looking closely there are hairs visible on the legs. The other concern is the clearly visible spinnerets, I have not measured them, but he is pictured next to a table spoon. I was thinking the trapdoors have no visible spinnerets, I am hoping I am wrong there.

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Sophie Corbett

Sophie
2.04 PM, 24 April 2010

Hi, I've found several spider holes in my katoomba back yard this year,I thinkthe count is over ten now. The burrows are perefectly round with no obvious trip lines, they have all been silk lined and very beautiful. I've started to notice much smaller burrows too. I've found most of them in the lawn though a few were in garden beds. I had assumed they were Funnel webs and have dug up and killed several (useing motor oil too). Having read your info on funnel webs and brown trapdoores i am worried I've been killing a harmless creature. I have two very young kids and don't want to take risks. Is it possible to accurately identify the spider by it's burrow and do youknow of any services that can do this for me. Thanks for the info Sophie

Graham Milledge STAFF

Graham Milledge
3.01 PM, 29 January 2010

Funnel Web and Trapdoor Spiders are similar in appearance and need to be examined closely for a positive identification. An experienced person can sometimes identify them form photos but often they need to be examined under a microscope to see the key features. Adult males are easiest to identify because they often have species specific sexual characters. Burrows can be variable. Funnel Webs often have trip lines radiating from the burrow entrance, but not always. Both Funnel Webs & Trapdoors live in burrows all their lives, except the adult males which will wander in search of females at night. During the day the male will find somewhere sheltered to hide, under a rock for example.

S M

rudyard
1.01 PM, 23 January 2010

@ technicolour.segways........I have the same spiders around my clothes line, in Sydney. I dropped a beetle on the outside and it came out. From my reading it is not dangerous. I have 3 of them in close proximity, I initially thought they were ant holes. Look around, I acutally found the lids of the trapdoors around 2 of the burrows......dont know why they dont work cause they are never on the holes but are definately there.

S M

rudyard
1.01 PM, 23 January 2010

Can someone please help me identify a spider, I believe it to be either a funnel web or a brown trapdoor spider as pictured on this page. I had a fair look at it and was not 100% sure it was a funnel web like I have been in the past. * I was building a garden bed and removed a rock from the dirt and it came out from under the rock.....Funnel webs are found under rocks, are trapdoor spiders always in a burrow or could they be under rocks as well? Rock was within a meter of a large mature gum tree. * It is the 2nd day in a row in the high 30°'s and was very humid, happened today 23rd jan in Sydneys suburd of illawong (west outscurts of the Sutherland Shire). * Are trap door spiders usually passive even when provoked? It did not rear up at all and was not agreesive at all even as I poked and proded it with a stick to try and get a look at it. I flipped it over and it had a decent set of fangs on it. Previous funnel webs I have encouted are very agreesive and attack the sticks like a bull seeing red. * I also have 3 trapdoor spiders about 10m away near the clothes line, they are in distinctive circular burrows, are noticebly smaller than the spider I found today and look nothing at all like it (or like the trapdoor spider in the picture on this page)so I know it is not whatever those trapdoor spiders are (they are a lighter colour and have spots on the abdomen). * The colour didnt seem as jet black as your funnel web pictures and thebody was darker (blacker) than the abdomen. * It would be easy to identify now had I kept it, however with a 2 and 3 year old running barefoot and naked in the back yard, the parental instinct kicked in and it met an untimely death with the bottom of my shoe. I am leaning towards a funnel web but am unsure, it was definately NOT a mouse spider - have had many of those, no spot on the abdomen for the male and not stocky/fat enough for the female. Thanks for any help.

Andy Walker

technicolour.segways@gmail.com
1.01 PM, 19 January 2010

My dad has a spider in his back yard that he is thinking of removing. I was thinking if I found out what it was he might not have to. The burrow is about a centimetre in diameter, and doesn't have trip-lines or any other visible silk. It sounds quite shallow, so that he can see its face and fangs when he looks in. The fangs are the straight up-and-down sort like a funnelweb or trapdoor spider has. Is there any way to identify it without catching it? Or to otherwise determine whether it poses any risk?

George Smith

wamuseum
1.01 AM, 05 January 2010

Hi, the other day I saw what appeared to be a funnel web nest on the south coast of WA. There was no trap section, just a conical web with an aperture about twice the size of a fifty cent piece descending into the ground. Can you advise me as to what lived there ?

Louise Carter STAFF

Louise Carter
10.09 AM, 23 September 2009

Hi Lucy, from what you have said it sounds like you have a trapdoor spider from the genus Stanwellia. These trapdoor spiders are found in southeastern australia and other parts of southern Australia. They are unusual in that both females as well as males tend to wander from their burrows. We are continually adding fact sheets to the website and hope to get one on Stanwellia species of trapdoor spiders soon.

L V

Lucy
4.09 PM, 19 September 2009

Hi, I found a trapdoor today and apparently it was a Stanwellian Trapdoor but have found no information on them anywhere on the web?

Serena Marinucci

beachball
5.06 PM, 27 June 2009

Thank you Louise I know your comment was directed at peppercorn none the less I have taken advantage just the same. I would also like to point out that the CSIRO have thorough in depth scientific facts sheets available for anyone that wants to learn more.

Louise Carter STAFF

Louise Carter
2.06 PM, 26 June 2009

If you have a look in the Spiders' toolkit section you will be able to find information about spider body parts, web building and silk. Unfortunately we can't put this information on every page.

joshua marrinucci

peppercorn
2.06 PM, 26 June 2009

Unfortuntely mike gray the fact sheet here dosent inform other people about certain details of the trapdoor spiders body appearance such as where are the fanged jaws located in the head or how they get there talent to build and construct the webbing in the silk.

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Sydney Brown Trapdoor Spider, male

Sydney Brown Trapdoor Spider, male View full size
Mike Gray © Australian Museum

Trapdoor Spider Burrow with dry leaf litter and triplines

Trapdoor Spider Burrow with dry leaf litter and triplines View full size
Mike Gray © Australian Museum

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