PDA

View Full Version : Lynx Spider (?)



Abhishek Jamalabad
22-07-2009, 02:19 PM
Couldn't get the exact ID from S.Indian Spiders. Please help if you can.
Another spider from the same trip, from the same place (I found the Portia fimbriata just below this same tree earlier in the day). This was on a guava tree. Interestingly I saw 4 to 5 of these spiders on the same branch. Any thoughts about this mini-congregation?
Camera Model Name Canon PowerShot SX10 IS
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv (Shutter Speed) 1/500
Av (Aperture Value) 4.5
ISO Speed 200
Focal Length 5.0 mm (lowest limit)
AF Range Mode Macro
Heavily cropped. No other changes.
Should I have used a wider aperture here?
Thanks for looking, comments and critiques welcome.

Abhishek Jamalabad
22-07-2009, 04:27 PM
Sorry I mean should I have used a narrower aperture... :P

AB Apana
22-07-2009, 04:38 PM
Try SpiderIndia. I have also photographed a very similar spider at Bangalore's Hebbal lake.

Apana

Bibhav Behera
22-07-2009, 05:27 PM
Hi Abhishek,
The highlights here are very jarring. I had to aggressively reduce the highlights.

Do check this version.

Mrudul Godbole
22-07-2009, 06:17 PM
The re-post is looking better with the reduced highlights. The spider is well in focus. I think f4.5 should suffice. You could have tried for a off centre composition.

Keep posting..

Abhishek Jamalabad
22-07-2009, 10:35 PM
Thanks all for the comments...
Bibhav: The repost is definitely better ,thanks.
Apana: I remember your spider, that was definitely not a lynx, as you mentioned in that thread. The comparatively hairless legs here, with only a few spines, are characteristic of lynx spiders. Doesn't seem to be an quick and easy job to get the ID from spiderindia. Will try, however...
Mrudul: Since this is a cropped version, I can try an off centered one too. However I cropped it this way to avoid some distracting shadows that were there all around. With this version, I get the entire leaf part sunlit.

Bibhav Behera
23-07-2009, 03:47 AM
Oxyopes shwetha (Fam: Oxyopidae)
Found this on a site. Same spider...

Abhishek Jamalabad
23-07-2009, 01:29 PM
Thanks for the help,Bibhav, but do tell me where you got it... Oxyopes shwetha on google images seems to be the white lynx spider...
Definitely from oxyopidae though, got that on S.Indian spiders... still wondering about the species...
Thanks again for the help...

Sabyasachi Patra
23-07-2009, 08:17 PM
The repost is better. Certainly an interesting spider. I am not knowledgeable on spiders. Do post any details you have about habit and habitat etc.

Chitrita Chatterjee
24-07-2009, 02:07 PM
Bibhav's repost looks better..... lovely picture.....
would be interesting to know wht makes them cluster in groups like you mentioned.....

Abhishek Jamalabad
24-07-2009, 05:10 PM
Do post any details you have about habit and habitat etc.

I have mentioned some of it with the 1st post on this thread. However I'll try to tell you more...
The lynx spiders (family Oxyopidae) are small spiders, most of them have a body about 1-2 cm in length. They are most easily distinguished by their legs which have a few sparse spines instead of the usual hairy legs of other jumping spiders. Another identifying feature, if you get to observe them closely, is that 6 of their 8 eyes are arranged in a hexagonal pattern near the front of the head.
They also have a distinguishing abdomen pattern (Though Apana's spider which is not a lynx, has a similar pattern)
All jumping spiders are inquisitive creatures, staring at the lens, sometimes even jumping onto and running all over the camera, unlike other creatures that try to escape. I have observed lynxes to be more aggressive than other spiders. Almost every time I have encountered a lynx (not this time though) they immediately raise their front legs and part of their head : a spider threat display. They even "charge" at you, trying to climb over your hand. I've luckily never given them a chance to bite me, if that's what they want to do. Though they're harmless to humans, I really don't want to try it out.:D
Lynx spiders I think are always found on leaves. They're quite common, even on kitchen plants, if you look carefully.
This time I also witnessed the intriguing "congregation" I've never seen before.