calliopes_pen (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
calliopes_pen) wrote2011-05-07 01:08 pm
calliopes_pen) wrote2011-05-07 01:08 pm
Entry tags:
Spider Identification
I found an impressively large spider in the bathroom before I went to bed day before yesterday. Years ago, there was a giant spider in the shower curtain (while I was in the shower that time, it slowly revealed itself) that got away, and never returned. This looks like a vaguely smaller (but well fed—this one was fat) relative of that. When I saw it it was spread eagle, all legs out. Yes, I fled. When Dad got in there seconds later, it was scrunched up preparing to flee--he thought for a moment it might jump, but it didn't. Took a minute and a half to properly kill it by beating it down, before it was thrown in the toilet and flushed when it twitched and tried to crawl again. We cleaned up the legs littered around the bathtub at that point.
We’re now trying to figure out what the type of spider was. Thanks to this site having an identification section, there is a chance it was Loxoscelidae. That’s the brown recluse family, but it was too big for a brown recluse, and was black instead of brown or tan. Size of a half dollar—not the body, just when the legs aren’t completely spread. Body size of a dime. Solid black, no identifying marks. The legs were hairy, and thick—I don’t know how many eyes it had. Does anyone on my friends list know what type that could be?
The good news is that Dad had taken a shower approximately 20 minutes prior to me finding it, so the tub was just slick enough with a few droplets that the thing couldn't escape faster. The bad news is Dad was probably showering with it, and didn't realize it. Now he understands my horror.
I have my suspicions that it came indoors because of all the flooding, but there's no way to be certain if it was that, or if Dad vacuuming prior to the guy from Comcast showing up just disturbed it.
We’re now trying to figure out what the type of spider was. Thanks to this site having an identification section, there is a chance it was Loxoscelidae. That’s the brown recluse family, but it was too big for a brown recluse, and was black instead of brown or tan. Size of a half dollar—not the body, just when the legs aren’t completely spread. Body size of a dime. Solid black, no identifying marks. The legs were hairy, and thick—I don’t know how many eyes it had. Does anyone on my friends list know what type that could be?
The good news is that Dad had taken a shower approximately 20 minutes prior to me finding it, so the tub was just slick enough with a few droplets that the thing couldn't escape faster. The bad news is Dad was probably showering with it, and didn't realize it. Now he understands my horror.
I have my suspicions that it came indoors because of all the flooding, but there's no way to be certain if it was that, or if Dad vacuuming prior to the guy from Comcast showing up just disturbed it.