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Home , Archaeidae, Argiope keyserlingi, Coremiocnemis, Delena cancerides, Desis (spider), Euoplos

THE EXHIBITION

6 DEC 2019 UNTIL 4 MAY 2020

Media Kit

An exhibition developed & toured by the Australian Museum & Questacon – The National Science and Technology Centre Lynx Photo © Robert Whyte - The Exhibition

Spiders are awesome - they can spin webs, climb, swim, dance, parachute and they can even drop a limb when threatened and grow it back. Found on every continent in the world except Antarctica, spiders are one of nature’s great success stories. Spiders - The Exhibition at Museum will give visitors an eight-eyed insight into the amazing world of . Providing a combination of immersion and information, Spiders - The Exhibition showcases the latest science surrounding arachnids that allows the visitor an up close glimpse into the fascinating world of spiders. Spiders - The Exhibition features fascinating interactive displays, along with more than 200 spider specimens including live Australian , funnel-webs, redbacks and giant water spiders. Spiders - The Exhibition will be a once in a lifetime experience, with engaging and fun interactives for all ages. Come and get an eight-eyed insight into the amazing world of arachnids when Spiders - The Exhibition opens at Queensland Museum on 6 December, 2019. Spiders - The Exhibition is a joint project between the Australian Museum and Questacon – The National Science & Technology Centre, Canberra and will run at Queensland Museum until 4 May 2020. Wolf spider, Hoggicosa bicolor

Explore the Exhibition – Themes What is a Spider Spider Survival Visitors to Spiders – The Exhibition Just how these creatures have are dared to enter into the world survived millions of years all over of hunting, burrowing and weaving the world is unveiled through spiders and learn the origin of an explanation of , silk, arachnids from a time before movement, vision and vibrations. dinosaurs. This is illustrated with This content involves hands- fossils and from the Australian on interactives, models and live Museum collection. deadly Funnel-web and Redback Spider specimens. Spider Diversity and Distribution Spider Science and The diversity of spiders is a major Discoveries theme of the exhibition and a family There is a constant stream of new tree illustrated with real spider science discoveries in the field of specimens begins the journey into and venom and silk understanding some of the 48,000 + technologies that are highlighted in from around the world. the exhibition through interviews Using 3D scanning technology an with scientists. interactive touchscreen demonstrates Traditional Aboriginal knowledge as visitors virtually systems are also included to add to dissect and view spiders from the our understanding of spiders, silk inside out. and venom. Spiders inhabit just about every corner of the globe and the range of habitats can be explored though touchscreens Queensland Museum with audio visual content and Research interactive spider environments. Queensland Museum arachnologists undertake research to document Spider Reproduction and learn about our changing environment. Stunning world-first footage of the — the identification of new species phenomenal 3mm long Peacock of — is a core component Spider and his ritual introduce of the Museum’s research program. the visitor to the dangerous world of Learn more about four new species spider reproduction. of trapdoor spiders that have recently been discovered and described by Queensland Museum scientists. These new species have been given the common name of Palisade Trapdoor Spiders because their distinctive burrows protrude out of the ground like miniature turrets or towers.

MEET THE SPIDERS Most Spiders are smaller than your thumb, but they have a mighty reputation. Venom and silk are their superpowers and they save us from a world that would otherwise be overrun with . At Spiders – The Exhibition, you can find out how these amazing animals have become one of the most successful creatures on Earth. Chances are you’re always close to a spider. A useful way to get to know spiders is to group them according to their lifestyles. Hunters, burrowers and weavers differ in the way they catch their food (prey) and how they use silk. Come face to face with 12 live spider species during your visit to Spiders - The Exhibition. Here you can meet some of the amazing arachnids that will make Queensland Museum their home until 4 May 2020. WATCH SPIDERS COME TO LIFE! Watch the spiders come to life by scanning images from the Spiders exhibition with the Spiders Augmented Reality app! You can make them dance, snap a picture with them and keep the Peacock Spider as a pet. Spiders that are featured in the app include: • St Andrews Cross Spider • Queensland Whistling • Wolf Spider • Redback Spider • Red headed Mouse Spider • Peacock Spider Uncover the secrets of these under-appreciated arachnids by downloading the Spiders AR to your Apple or Android device today! Don’t forget to share your experience on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with #qldmuseum The Spiders exhibition is a joint exhibition between the Australian Museum and Questacon.

Please note: Visitors are not permitted to handle live spider specimens Giant Water Spider Green Scientific Name: Megadolomedes trux Scientific Name: Mopsus mormon Distribution: E ast coast , from to Distribution: Northern Australia Queensland. Habitat: Amongst green foliage (arboreal) Habitat: Riparian zones of slow moving to still Lifespan: Up to 2 years, approx. 1 year as adults. bodies of water (flat water). Adult Size: 16mm body length. Lifespan: Up to 2 years, approx. 6 months to 1 Diet: Insects; flies, crickets, dragonflies; and year as adults. smaller spiders. Adult Size: 160mm leg span and 25mm body length. Behaviours: Found amongst green foliage where Leg span can reach 180mm. green body camouflages. Diet: Insects (larvae and adult), small Large eyes forward facing providing tadpoles and small fish. wide range view, probably in colour, Behaviours: The y can walk across and float on the smaller eyes facing side and back water with the help of a dense covering showing a blurry wider peripheral vision. of hair on the legs that trap air pockets Will stalk prey until in reach (2-3cm) and a hydrophobic exoskeleton that where it will pounce on top of prey, repels water. using comparatively large to Megadolomedes can run quite fast on crush and envenom. water and land. On water, they propel themselves with the inner two pairs of legs and use the front pair to detect ripples or vibrations from possible prey. They can dive and stay underwater for a while by trapping air bubbles with their dense hairs. They can detect prey by detecting water vibrations with sensory slits in their legs (mostly their front pair). They hang upside down from rock overhangs, plants or sticks to moult their exo-skeleton. They have been seen wriggling their tarsus or their palps to lure fish. Social Net-casting Spider Scientific Name: cancerides Scientific Name: Deinopis sp. Distribution: South-western and eastern mainland Distribution: All over Australia. Australia and . Habitat: Suspended in low lying vegetation in Habitat: Under the loose bark of trees, mostly woodland, grasslands and urban areas. Blackwood, Acacia melanoxylon, Lifespan: Up to 2 years, approx. 1 year as adults. and River Red Gum, Eucalyptus Adult Size: Up to 3cm body length. camaldulensis. Diet: Terrestrial insects such as crickets, Lifespan: Up to 2 years, approx. 1 year as adults. and beetles. Adult Size: 140mm leg span and 30mm body length. Behaviours: Mak es a small web of a few strands of Diet: Insec ts such as beetles, crickets, silk from which it suspends, holding a net cockroaches and slaters. made from silk with its front pair of legs. Behaviours: A fter mating with female, the male will Will build over a dry leaf directly below go off to mate with other females while which it marks with white dots of urate. the gravid (pregnant) female will seal It uses these as targets. Once a prey the bark to the tree with really strong item walks over the white dot, the spider webbing and lay small green eggs into a throws the web-net over it. flat purse made from her silk and wrap The front middle pair of eyes (Posterior it up. Median Eyes) are considerably enlarged The young will hatch inside the sac and and are better at gathering light in the stay there until their first moult. dark than a cat or an owl. The mother will then tear open the sac The light sensitive retina (that causes and the young will gather around the their eyes to shine in torch light) is mother’s area. destroyed by the light at each dawn due She will share her food until they to not having eyelids, however, unlike can catch their own and share it any or mammal, this membrane is between themselves. reconstructed every evening. Rather than leaving the mother, they will stay with her and continue to catch and share food with their siblings until they mature. The older siblings will even watch the next egg sac, while the mother goes off to hunt. They will generally disperse when they reach maturity or sub-adulthood. Sydney Funnel-web Spider Redback Spider Scientific Name: robustus Scientific Name: hasseltii Distribution: Endemic to Sydney, as south of Illawarra, Distribution: All Australia as west as the Blue Mountains and as Habitat: Dark areas in woodlands, grasslands and north as Central Coast. urban areas. Habitat: Damp and urban areas, often Lifespan: Up to 3 years, approx. 2 years as adult. under rocks or wood. Adult Size: 12mm body length (females) Lifespan: 3-10 years. Diet: Invertebrates and small , Adult Size: 35mm body length whatever it can catch in its web. Diet: Insects. Behaviours: Builds a web in dark places with strands Behaviours: Will burrow down with a funnel like of silk coming down. opening surrounded with trip wires. This complex web is efficient in snaring Burrows heavily lined with silk giving many things. Passing prey that trip on “sock” appearance. the lower lines of silk when become Normally found underneath rocks and stuck. The trip lines snap and spring up wood embedded in damp soils. and the prey only gets more stuck. Most toxic spider in the world, Ensnared prey struggle sending Atracotoxin being a causing vibrations along the silk which notifies severe pain, muscle cramps, tingling in the spider of the presence of food. lips, headaches, loss of eyesight and The spider will wrap they prey in silk paralysis of respiratory system, death. and eat it later. No deaths or severe cases known since Their silk can catch and transport prey the development of the larger than itself. in 1981. Australian Tarantulas: Golden Orb-weaving Spider Brush Tarantula Scientific Name: Nephila plumipes/edulis Scientific Name: Coremiocnemis tropix Distribution: All Australia. Habitat: Woodlands and Urban areas Whistling Tarantula Lifespan: Up to 2 years, approx. 1 year as adults. Scientific Name: Phlogius sp. Adult Size: 240mm body length (females) Diet: Flying insects, occasionally Feather-leg Tarantula and bats. Scientific Name: Selenotypu sp. Behaviours: Cons tructs an orb web which ensnares any that is unfortunate to fly Distribution: Northern Australia and central regions. into it. Habitat: Phlogius & Coremiocnemis spp. are Will also prey on birds or bats that found in flooding grasslands and become ensnared, spitting digestive . Selenotholus & Selenotypus fluid inside prey sucking the externally spp. are found in semi-arid grasslands. digested food through small holes. Lifespan: 5-15 years. Wraps up prey in silk, sometimes. Adult Size: B ody length can grow over 50mm and Sense vibrations of struggling prey leg span can be up to 180mm. caught in silk. Diet: Lar ge insects, small vertebrates (rarely Females spend most their lives in the birds though despite sometimes being centre of their orb web. Males will roam/ called “Bird-Eating Spider”). balloon to find a mate. Behaviours: Nocturnal and burrowing. Webs stay up permanently, unlike most When alarmed, they make a whistling/ other orb-weavers. They will patch up hissing sound by rubbing the hairs of small breaks only recreating a web when the chelicerae together. This is called it is badly damaged. stridulation. Preferred method of capture is prey Will sit at their burrow entrance at gets caught in web, spider moves to it and wait for prey to walk past. It will bites to envenom then wraps it up. It occasionally actively search for prey. then retreats to the hub of the web with Burrows can be up to 30cm deep ending the prey package or leaves the prey with a cavern where they spend most package for later. the day. St. Andrews Cross Spider Maleny Palisade Trapdoor Spider Scientific Name: keyserlingi Scientific Name: Euoplos turrificus Distribution: Eastern Australia Distribution: South East Queensland, Australia, on the Habitat: Woodlands, heath, dry sclerophyll forest southern Blackall Range near Maleny and urban areas. Habitat: Subtropical rainforest, in a burrow with Lifespan: Up to 2 years, approx. 1 year as adults. a D-shaped door that sits on top of a Adult Size: 20mm body length (females) short turret Diet: Flying insects. Lifespan: Unknown, but likely 5-15 years, and Behaviours: Cons tructs an orb web which ensnares females probably 10+ years as adults any insect that is unfortunate to fly Adult Size: 2 5-30 mm body length as adults into it. Diet: Variety of ground-dwelling insects and Sense vibrations of struggling prey caught in silk. Behaviours: F emales spend their lives in their Females spend most their lives in the burrow, whereas males mature and centre of their orb web. Males will roam/ wander in search of a mate during balloon to find a mate. summer and autumn. Webs stay up permanently, unlike most This species has a burrow entrance and other orb-weavers. They will patch up trapdoor that are very distinctive and small breaks only recreating a web when species-specific. it is badly damaged. At night, trapdoor spiders wait poised Preferred method of capture is prey gets just inside their burrow entrance, caught in web, spider moves to it, wraps pouncing on any prey that walks past, it up then bites to envenomate. It then injecting it with fast-acting venom and retreats to the hub of the web with the then dragging the unfortunate victim prey package or leaves the prey package back into the burrow. for later.

MEET QUEENSLAND MUSEUM’S ARACHNOLOGISTS Queensland Museum is home to one of the Southern Hemispheres most active arachnology department with the team of arachnologists describing more than 1,000 species of spiders, which is almost a third of all spiders in Australia. The unit is headed by Queensland Museum’s very own spider man, Dr Robert Raven who has discovered around 500 species. Some of these spiders have been named after celebrities including Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Jack Nicolson, surfer Mick Fanning, Karl Lagerfeld, Sir David Attenborough, Bob Marley and ballet icon Li Cunxin. Dr Michael Rix Dr Mike Rix is a Principal Curator of Arachnology and Research Fellow in the Biodiversity and Geosciences Program at the Queensland Museum. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Queensland, and his Ph.D. at the University of in 2009. Before joining Queensland Museum in 2015, Mike worked at the Western Australian Museum and the University of Adelaide. Mike works primarily on the taxonomy, systematics, evolutionary biology and molecular biology of Australian spiders. The overriding aim of his research is to combine phylogenetic approaches to explore biogeographic and other evolutionary problems, with revisionary taxonomic approaches to describe and conserve species. He has dedicated most of his career to working with collections and to taxonomically documenting the remarkable spider , and has described 214 species in eight families. How many species of spiders have you described? As of September 2019, I have described 214 new species of spider. What is your favourite species of spider and why? My favourite spiders are Pelican Spiders of the family Archaeidae. These enigmatic animals were actually known from fossils before living specimens were discovered in the of . Today, they are only known from mainland Australia, Madagascar and southern Africa, but fossils are known from the Period, and there have been Pelican Spiders on Earth for over 200 million years. They have highly modified bodies, with a hugely elevated head region and long, spear-like mouthparts, which they use to prey on other spiders (they are also sometimes called Assassin Spiders). In Australia we have 38 named species, and in Queensland they occur in rainforest habitats from the Lamington National Park north to the Wet Tropics. These remarkable ‘living fossils’ have captured my interest for over 20 years, and I study them whenever I can! Why did you become an arachnologist? I first discovered arachnology at the age of 10, when I saw what I thought to be an ant in some bushland near Ipswich. I realised it wasn’t an ant when it looked up at me, and then abseiled down to a leaf on a line of silk! What I had found was actually an Ant-Mimicking Jumping Spider (Link to this: http://theconversation.com/spiders-disguise-themselves-as-ants-to-hide- and-hunt-their-prey-33953), and from that moment on I was hooked! I soon discovered that spiders were endlessly fascinating, poorly known and terribly misunderstood, and I decided by about the age of 12 that I wanted to pursue a scientific career in arachnology. I’ve never looked back since! What is your favourite spider fact? That large female trapdoor spiders in the Australian arid zone can live to over 40 years of age in the wild! I love spiders because... They are endlessly fascinating, and can teach us so much about evolutionary processes, and conservation biology. Spiders have a bad-wrap, but the vast majority of species are harmless to humans, and are the dominant predators of insects in all terrestrial environments (and thus crucial to the maintenance of life on Earth). They exhibit an extraordinary diversity of morphologies, lifestyles and behaviours, and have been around for over 300 million years. We still have so much to learn about these amazing animals, and still so many new species to scientifically describe. Dr Robert Raven Dr Robert Raven is the Head of Terrestrial Biodiversity and Principal Curator, , at Queensland Museum. He has a wide knowledge of invertebrate groups, including earthworms and snails, as well as some frogs. Robert heads one of the most active arachnological units in the Southern Hemisphere. Robert first studied spiders to manage his fear of them. Soon after that, when he tried to study the behaviour and ecology of spiders around , he discovered that very little was known about their names. Some were new species so he started working on their taxonomy, naming them. He was Chairman of Queensland Museum’s Ethics Committee. Robert has described close to 500 new spider species from Australia, , Fiji, Solomon Islands, Colombia, Peru, Panama, Mexico, India, south-east Asia, . How many species of spiders have you described? Too many! I am sitting at around 500 species of spiders that I have described and they are from around the world. What is your favourite species of spider and why? My favourite species of spider is the Bob Marley Marine Spider, Desis bobmarleyi. I found this spider on the beach in North Queensland and my colleagues and I described it a few years ago. The reason I love this spider so much is because it lives on reefs and only sees air about three to four times a year when the tide drops to 0.3 metre. How does that work?? Why did you become an arachnologist? I am quite an unusual case as I am an arachnologist with a fear of spiders! I had a fear of the thought of a spider on my arm and decided the only way to logically manage my fear was to study them, from there I discovered there was actually very little known about spiders and I started to describe them. And while I can manage my fear in a work capacity, I know that if a huntsman jumped on me while asleep in bed, I would be petrified! What is your favourite spider fact? Some male Daddy Long legs have a reproductive organ bigger than the rest of the body. I love spiders because… They always continue to amaze and challenge me. Also I believe the most important things that spiders have done is to allow me to meet an amazing diversity of people and visit some marvellous places through the work I do with them. Which is amazing to think all of this has stemmed from my initial fear of them. Dr Owen Seeman Dr Owen Seeman became an arachnologist about 25 years ago, thanks to seasickness torpedoing aspirations in marine biology, and a realisation that he knew nothing about insects, except that most were not marine and they were more interesting than seashells. This transitioned to a fascination for mites and the extraordinary things they do in some of the most unusual places. After studying flower-inhabiting mites that ride on bees and birds, the remarkable diversity of mites on passalid beetles, and a dalliance with the Tasmanian mite fauna, he joined the Queensland Museum as a collection manager and acarologist (a special branch of arachnology dedicated to mites and ticks). Much of his research has focused on the species diversity, morphological adaptations and curious relationships between mites and their host insects. How many species of spiders have you described? Although Owen has described no new species of spiders, he has described 121 species of mites, solo or in research teams. What is your favourite species of spider and why? My favourite type of spider is the Bolas Spiders, and I’ll choose the bird- dropping spider (Celaenia excavata). What’s not to love about a spider that mimics not only a piece of poo, but also the of female ? At night, when male moths are seeking a mate, these unsuspecting lovebirds end up becoming food for the spider. Another cool thing about these is that they’re orb-weavers that have abandoned orb webs. This is because moths are hard to catch in webs (thanks to their scales), and so orb-weavers have evolved cunning ways of trapping them. Mimicing female sex pheromones, and foregoing web altogether, is the pinnacle of this evolutionary pathway! Why did you become an arachnologist? In the long ago, I became fascinated by insects, especially parasitic insects, which are not only economically important but sometimes bizarre. This grew into a love for ticks, which are a type of mite, and thus an . I was soon swayed to do an honours project on a type of mite that had been found on birds, but should really live in flowers – and, as we suspected, they turned out to be riding on the heads of nectar-feeding birds as a way of moving between flowers. Mites may be tiny, but partly thanks to this they do all sorts of weird and wonderful things, and I’ve loved working on them for 25 years. What is your favourite spider fact? I love that spiders can be caught in their own webs – it’s just that they’re wonderfully adept at moving on them. Webs aren’t just entirely sticky: there’s often dry web that the spiders walk on; and many touch the webs only with their hook-like claws at the tips of their feet. Should they get sticky web on their feet, they soon give them a clean. Some spiders also specialise on web-building spiders as prey, and these often have cunning strategies for moving on (or simply avoiding) the web so they can attack the builder of the web! I love spiders because… To be totally biased, the best spiders are the ones that are hosts to mites! But my favourite groups of animals are those that express a huge diversity of behaviours. In spiders, I love how they’re all predators, but they catch their prey in all sorts of different ways that seem astonishingly clever to a human observer. In can be the way a jumping spider stalks and hunts prey; how a net-caster builds its intricate trap; or how a tiny silver dewdrop spider raids the webs of golden-orb weavers. FUN SPIDER FACTS

Did you know?

• Spiders were one of the earliest animals to live on land, about • Spiders can self-amputate to escape a bird or another predator. 400 million years ago, making them much older than dinosaurs! Some spiders can also regrow their legs when they next moult! • When dinosaurs roamed the earth during the Jurassic period • Spiders are often eaten by hunting seeking food for their (191 – 136 million years ago), orb weaving spiders where young, spider eggs are very nutritious for many wasps, flies spinning sophisticated aerial webs to catch flying insects. and lacewings. • Spiders are called invertebrates because they don’t have • Spiders also like to eat other spiders, sometimes they eat their backbones. They come from the class Arachnida meaning they siblings, mates or their babies! have a front body and a rear body, 8 legs, 2 biting or piercing • Spiders can be found in Aboriginal art including bark and rock mouth parts and 2 palps. Other arachnids found in Queensland painting, particularly in the Northern Territory of Australia. include mites and ticks and scorpions. • Spiders live in almost every habitat on earth – except for polar • Only about one third of the 10,000 spiders in Australia have regions, high mountains and the open ocean. been named. • Spiders are an important part of nature – their venom and silk • Primitive spiders include trapdoor, funnel-web, wishbone, are used in medical research, pest control and fibre technology. curtain web, mouse spiders and tarantulas and can live for up Spiders help out by eating lots of insect pests! to 25 years! • Some spiders are threatened species in Australia due to • Modern spiders include orb-weaving, net-casting, daddy-long- clearing and degrading of bushland. Habitat conservation is legs, water, fishing, nursery, redback, brown widow, wolf, crab, essential to maintaining sustainable ecosystems. jumping, huntsman, ant and white-tailed species and usually live for 1 or 2 years. • Spiders are awesome - they can spin webs, climb, swim, dance, parachute and balloon. • We use amber spider fossils – that is, complete spiders trapped in clear, sticky, tree resins, to show us that spiders like the ones we know today, lived more than 30 million years ago. Dr Robert Raven holding a redback spider

Peacock Spider, Maratus harrisi IMAGES A selection of images that are indicative of what visitors can expect when they visit Spiders - The Exhibition

Images for media use A range of images of exhibition objects are available for download and use by media via the Spiders - The Exhibition https://www.dropbox.com/sh/5cw4tebdesm0jkv/AABax-uCSWKNsyHH0rg3csf-a?dl=0 Supplied photo captions and credits — included in the image gallery — must accompany publication. Tickets Events & BOX OFFICE Public Programs Tickets Prices After Dark (18+ only ) Adult: $15.50 Concession/ Adult Student: $13.50 Grab a drink and explore all the Museum has to offer — natural history, cultural heritage, science and human achievement Child (5-15 years) $12.50 that tells the changing story of Queensland. Get entry to the (children under 5 FREE) entire Museum including Spiders - The Exhibition There will Family (2A + 2C): $46 be demonstrations and displays, live music, entertainment and Member Adult $13.95 expert talks. Member Concession $12.15 Dates to be confirmed. Member child $11.25 Member Family $41.40 Tickets can be purchased at www.qm.qld.gov.au A Night at the Museum Explore the museum as the sun goes down at our night time adventure for our smallest visitors. Enjoy an evening full of fun for the whole family and entry to every level of the museum including Spiders - The Exhibition. Dates to be confirmed.

Annual Pass Holders Adult: $18.90 Child (5-15 years): $13.50 Family (2 Adults + 2 Children): $54 Annual Pass Holders will need to present their card and ticket on entry. Prices include all booking fees.

Food and Drink A selection of hot and cold family friendly food and drinks will available for purchase. The event is licensed. ID will be required to purchase alcohol Spiders - The Exhibition Shop

Loved finding out more about our eight-legged friends? Then a visit to the Spiders - The Exhibition shop on Level 3 is a must for those wanting to take home a souvenir to remember their experience. There is a range of spider themed giftware including hats, backpacks, t-shirts and water bottles.

TOTES

KIDS BUCKET HAT

MOCKUP

FABRIC COLOURS: Blue top and brim: Blue S6029 Red middle panel: Red S6002

Screenprint spider design in white.

White Queensland Museum label.

PRINT PANEL: Print white on red cotton drill 540mm wide x 80mm high Media enquiries [email protected] Christine Robertson, (07) 3840 7789 | 0417 741 710 Kylie Hay, (07) 3842 9388 | 0434 565 852

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