The spiderlings of the Red-headed Mouse Spider disperse by ballooning, a technique that is rare in mygalomorphs. The spiderlings hatch from the egg sac over summer and remain with the mother into autumn when dispersal occurs. The female lays 60 or more eggs within an egg sac that she places into a brood chamber off the main shaft of her burrow. If she is receptive the male follows her into the burrow where mating occurs. Once the burrow is located the male taps the ground and silk around the doors until the female emerges. While wandering, male mouse spiders hold their long pedipalps (carrying the mating organs) extended forwards, presumably seeking an airborne scent (pheromone) associated with the femaleor its burrow. They are unusual in that their wandering behaviour occurs during the day, unlike other mygalomorph spiders, whose males are night wanderers. They leave their shallow burrows during the breeding season to find a mate. Males reach sexual maturity at about four years. Other behaviours and adaptationsįemale Red-headed Mouse spiders have been found to produce copious amounts of a highly toxic venom, which is potentially as dangerous as that of the Sydney Funnel-web Spider. Red-headed Mouse spiders mainly prey on insects and other spiders, but also occasionally on small vertebrates such as frogs and lizards. They tend to be more common especially after rain. The male Red-headed Mouse Spiders are usually found wandering for females during the day in late summer (Feb)to early winter months (Jun). They are found across mainland Australia, however mainly west of the Great Dividing Range. Red-headed Mouse Spiders ( Missulena occitoria) have the largest distribution of all the Mouse spiders. The females tend to remain in or near their burrows throughout their life, and are sluggish spiders that are rarely aggressive. Red-headed Mouse Spiders can be found in open forest to semi-arid shrub-land habitats. The burrow can extend for a depth of about 30cm - which is unusually deep for a spider, but not as deep as previously claimed for this species. It provides a refuge from predators and a safe place for the egg sac and spiderlings. Some species have a side chamber extending of the main burrow shaft, usually closed by a trap door. The burrows are built with double or single trapdoors and the entrance is oval-shaped. Like the trap-door spiders, the mouse spider lives in burrows in the ground, often in banks of rivers, creeks and other waterways, and is sometimes found in suburban gardens. It wasn't until years later that reasearchers found a mating pair that they were in fact the same species. When the species was first described males and females were treated as two different species due to their vastly different size and appearance. They have thinner and longer slender legs without mating spurs. Male Red-headed Mouse Spiders have a bright red head and jaws and a gunmetal blue to black abdomen. Female Red-headed Mouse Spiders are much larger than the males. They tend to be uniformly dark brown to black all over, however their jaws are sometimes red-tinged. The spinnerets, at the back of the abdomen, are short and blunt, the last segment domed and button-like.įemale Red-headed Mouse Spiders are large, stout spiders with short legs. Their eyes are widespread across the front of their head. Red-headed Mouse Spiders have a smooth, glossy carapace and their head area is high, steep and broad with very large, bulbous jaws.
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