Shreyas Kuchibhotla

@RigdenDebbie @BritishSpiders @georgecmcgavin I’ve never seen a female/juvenile puella that looked like this. The ‘bleeding heart’ is usually very prominent even in small specimens. This one does look interesting, but having no experience with N. flavescens myself I don’t want to make any assertions here:

@BritishSpiders @georgecmcgavin I do have another clearer photo if that helps

Little Spider , maybe Nigma flavescens ? seen on my Sunday morning walk with my sis 🍂🍁🕷🦟 @BritishSpiders @georgecmcgavin #Spider #arachnid #Entomology #nature #wildlife #macro

Sometimes you get a surprise when you look up 🤩 female Wagler’s Pit Viper

@BerryTylan @BritishSpiders @graemelyons @cofnod That ocular region looks a bit like Acartauchenius!

Still valid.

Malayan Bridle Snake (Lycodon subannulatus). This rarely seen harmless little snake was making its way up a tree while checking under each piece of bark for a tasty morsel.

@TimothyJonas @Sybalan @BritishSpiders Could also just be a young Eratigena - they often have faint leg annulations when immature, plus the abdomen patterning seems more like one

Another little spider, this one I think is Tegenaria sp.

@MondaySpider @ForTheSpiders Abdomen pattern looks spot on for T. tenuis - I’m not confident on the epigyne though. Do you have any other Tenuiphantes in the region?

Found a pretty Linyphiid lady in Fort Collins, Colorado, by sifting leaf litter. This is a Tenuiphantes sp. The pattern is similar to Tenuiphantes tenebricola I often see in Finland. But I think it’s another species. Thanks to @ForTheSpiders for ID help and collecting advice!

@andydouglas1967 Even movement patterns - Monocephalus often have a start-stop pattern which is markedly different from quite a few similarly sized spiders, for example. Little things you pick up after disappointedly staring at the same epigyne for the 50th time.

@shreyasknv I'll know in future when I see it. I've always tended to look at the table and then jump to the pictures in Roberts, ignoring other features like eyes ,habitus etc. Lots to learn about id'ing linys. Fun though.

I found this non-TmIV spider at Ringstead, which had a hard cap over the epigyne. I know this can happen with Prinerigone, so it was going to go in the spreadsheet at that. But after a nights soak in KOH, I managed to prise the cap off, and it's Mermessus trilobatus again.

@andydouglas1967 Locket and Millidge go a bit more into detail with habitus than Roberts, if you want to get started - but most of what I can tell in the field is from personal experience (admittedly, quite limited in sample size).

@andydouglas1967 (Latter not visible here)

@andydouglas1967 It’s gotten to the point where if I find one of those mating plugs on a specimen, I’m almost certain it’s going to be this. Those huge and closely-set PMEs are also a giveaway.

The appreciation I have for this genus is rather unrequited!

@andydouglas1967 @BritishSpiders @BerryTylan This looks more like tenuis to me. T. zimmermanni makes almost always have a pale carapace and a ‘cleaner’ abdomen pattern.

@shreyasknv @BritishSpiders @BerryTylan I think that's probably right - I haven't really looked at the various Tenuiphantes habituses (habitae?). I don't think this is tenuis though, is it? In my second palp photo, the right hand tooth is just a shadow I think. I need to spend more time looking at the spiders I think.

Tenuiphantes zimmermani. Probably. Well, maybe. Who knows? Oh god, I hate Tenuiphantes. I'm sure it's zimmermani. Isn't it?

@BritishSpiders @andydouglas1967 @BerryTylan I find that genius and zimmermanni actually have (somewhat) consistent changes in habitus. Tenuiphantes palps are not the easiest but I think a habitus shot here might actually help a bit

@andydouglas1967 @BerryTylan

@alicebw4 I don’t think T. pedestris can be considered coastal - I’ve found it in all sorts of habitats including woodland.

Again you might ask why this is interesting. Well T. pedestris is also a coastal species. What's it doing in the deep dark woods? I have found it both in the ant hill, but also hiding away in old snail shells, which Zelotes also do!

Z is for Zelotes I have to admit to not being quite as interested in Zelotes (Gnaphosidae family). Whilst it's good to find new species, I really love watching spider behaviour and it's a lot easier for me to do that with species that live in and around my home. #Arachtober

@alicebw4 @BritishSpiders @arachtober @BerryTylan @chalkspring @Reefpaths @UKgardenspiders Zelotes are amazing! Identifying them, on the other hand…

Microctenonyx subitaneus (Linyphiidae) next to a Trochosa terricola (Lycosidae) pedipalp :)

A gorgeous Paradise Tree Snake watching the world go by.

@KalaKemangga The faint white radial markings on the carapace also match. Nice find! What was the habitat?

@shreyasknv sure, here you go

Iridescent scales on a gnaphosid specimen