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Jumping Spiders
Lynx Spider
Oxyopes Elegans
These spiders hunt by chasing and leaping on their prey. Despite being similar in look and habits they are not Salticids
Like all spiders who hunt they have excellent sight.
These spiders like to sit on platforms formed by leaves like the nasturtiums here or other plants that sit a small way above the canopy of the foliage where there is both cover and open hunting spaces
They are easily identified by the long spines on their legs
Below: This female was present at the same time and on the same plants as the male. At the time these were the only examples to be found on the property.
Later there was a reddish variety (bottom) although they did not appear until the nasturtiums had died and all signs of Lynx Spiders in that spot were gone
The female to the right is associated with the red variation. It may be a separate species.
There are some difference in patination and abdomen shape although they are within normal ranges for spiders in a different vegatation range.
These red variations live among weeds and grass along the new steel fence at the back of the property and have a wider range than Lynx on the nasturtiums were seen to have
Bottom: Red variation male
Site by Weblight Studio (Australia) Photography, Copyright Steve Solomons. All rights reserved
Very special thanks to Ron Atkinson for his tireless assistance in getting these creatures identified.
References :
Spiders of Australia , Ed Nieuwenhuys
The Find-a-spider Guide for Australian Spiders, University of Southern Queensland