Ravine Trapdoor Spider

RAVINE TRAPDOOR SPIDER

 

Ravine Trapdoor Spider is the common name of a rare, oddly shaped North American spider, Cyclocosmia truncata, belonging to the trapdoor spider family Ctenizidae. The Ravine Trapdoor Spider is a burrowing spider, inhabiting sloping riverbanks and ravines in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee. The abdomen of spiders in this genus is abruptly truncated and ends in a hardened disc which is strengthened by a system of ribs and grooves. They use this to clog the entrance of their 7 to 15 cm deep vertical burrows when threatened, a phenomenon called phragmosis. The tough, flattened abdomen is this species' defining characteristic and serves as their primary method of defence against intruders. When threatened, it faces head-down in its burrow, locks itself in place, and uses its abdomen as a plug to deter attackers. This is a defence tactic that prevents predatory wasps from stinging or pulling the spider out of its burrow. The female reaches a body length of 1.2 inches (3 centimetres) while the male grows to 0.75 inch (1.9 centimetres).  This species can be incredibly difficult to find due to the superb camouflage of their burrows. This species tends to be found within certain micro-habitats. They are primarily found in hilly, undisturbed woods that are far from any flood-prone bodies of water, such as rivers. They are frequently found near stream banks, however.  The burrow is a vertical tube that narrows toward the bottom. Only the bottom portion of the burrow is silk lined. Click here to see this spider in video.

The back part of this spider have some satanic carve on it.

Despite their scary tattoo, they are also very cute sometimes.

Scorpion-tailed Spider

SCORPION-TAILED SPIDER

Arachnura higginsi is also known as the Tailed Spider or Scorpion Tailed Spider. It is a common Austalian spider that occurs in many parts of Australia. The Scorpion Tailed Spider body is various shades of brown but most commonly fawn with a black tip on the end of the abdomen. The female has long tail that can be curled over the body, making it looks a bit like a scorpion. The tip of the tail often has a number of black lobes which are soft and unable to sting or inflict any sort of wound. The female spider spins and builds a permanent but incomplete small orb web near the ground to foliage. The female can grow up to 11mm which is larger than the male which can only grow to 3mm. This probably  makes the female spider more dominant, they always stays in centre of her web during the daytime while the male that is smaller and has no tail, may be found on the edge of the web. This spider have a special breeding method, in late summer and autumn, the female Scorpion Tailed Spider produces a series of woolly yellowish egg sacs which she strings up in a line from the centre of the web to fill the missing section. The egg sacs are often camouflaged with debris and the spider sits at the bottom of the string in the centre of the web. Bites from them are rare because they usually will not attack people if it’s not provoked, but the bite from them are not deadly it only results in minor symptoms such as local pain and swelling. 

 

Their 'scorpion tails' are harmless, they're just lobe-like structures.