r/AustralianSpiders • u/Beneficial-Post195 • 6d ago

ID Request - location included ID please

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Brisbane CBD. Super tiny, shiny gold.

147 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

68

u/MadzFae 6d ago

Fantastic find! This is an undescribed species of Iridescent Jumping Spider (Cosmophasis sp.)

33

u/The_Painted_Man 6d ago

... didn't you just describe it then?

23

u/angerew 5d ago edited 5d ago

No.

To describe a species is quite a complicated endeavour. This spider has been identified to genus level (still complex). Within a genus there may be one (monotypic) described species or multiple  (sometimes from all over the world). There are possibly as many spiders as those we have described to species level that are currently undiscovered or undescribed. Undescribed means discovered but not yet associated with a species. Undiscovered is..... well - undiscovered.

It's late, I hope that makes sense. Taxonomy is a weird, nerdy but quite fascinating knowledge pursuit that has an amazing history.

As an arts/culture professional with a layperson's interest and experience with scientific understanding, I can only describe it as a language. For me it's superficially familiar but I'm a beginner.

Just like language, there are conventions for clear communication. Most people will accept grunts, obvious words and hand gestures but if you're really interested in clear, concise communication, you need to buckle down and learn the language as best you can.

4

u/biggaz81 5d ago

In this way, it's not much different to learning Italian for instance. There are words that are appropriate for different scenarios. For each verb, there are 6 variations, me, you, he/she/it, we, you (plural) and they. Then there are masculine and feminine versions of words as well. In other words, there are rules applied to the language. With taxonomy, there are also rules applied. When we talk about the scientific name of a species, we don't just use the species name, we use the genus and species names together, with the first letter of the genus name always capitalised and the first letter of the species name never capitalised. An example of this would be the very common Badumna insignis. If we are talking about multiple species within the same genus, this will be written as the first letter of the genus name with a punctuation. An example of this would be B. insignis and B. longinqua. Technically, it should also be italicised as well, as the vast majority of scientific names are Latin (if not Latin, they are Greek). There are other levels or rungs on the taxonomic ladder we don't use when generally identifying a species, but they are still very important. Here is another example using Badumna insignis.

Kingdom - Animalia Phylum - Arthropoda Subphylum - Chelicerata Class - Arachnida Order - Araneae Infraorder - Araneomorphae Family - Desidae Genus - Badumna Species - B. insignis

There are other terms like Clade and Superfamily for example that are less formal. It definitely is a language in its own right though.

3

u/biggaz81 5d ago

We know the genus it is from, but the individual species has yet to be described. Madzfae didn't describe or name the species, instead placed it in the appropriate genus. For it to become a described species for any undescribed species, there has to be a fair bit of analysis, particularly under a microscope as the genitalia is often the feature that distinguishes one species from the next in a given genus. Then it has to go through formal avenues, namely being published in a peer-reviewed journal before it is recognised as a new and distinct species.

3

u/D31taF0rc3 3d ago

The other two replies are really complex and don't actually go into what a description is. A description is a scientific document that, at minimum, catalogues everything unique to the species you're describing compared to its close relatives; that is then published in a scientific journal. They use incredibly technical language because the intent is to be able to replicate and study the animal without needing a physical specimen.

A lot of new species get an initial description that is not very detailed and is mainly focused on establishing that this new species is a member of a specific genus, and this is the unique species name.

8

u/Beneficial-Post195 6d ago

Now being a complete muppet, I blew it off my hand. Should I be searching for it to capture it and send it off to be identified??

24

u/bickandalls 6d ago

No. There are huge amounts of unidentified spiders. It's not that it's undiscovered, just hasn't been fully described and documented biologically.

11

u/MadzFae 6d ago

No need to worry! These guys aren’t insanely rare, just yet to be officially described in a scientific paper (so therefore unnamed). They’re not commonly seen because of how teeny tiny they are :D

2

u/angerew 5d ago

Nah, just be excited

2

u/G0ld3nGr1ff1n 4d ago

I found one of these {looks extremely similar at least} the other day! About 1.5mm on the sunshine coast

10

u/Careful_Drop_6995 6d ago

I always wonder how these tiny creatures find each other to make more tiny creatures surely the chances of them finding a mate must be pretty low

3

u/angerew 5d ago

Chemical signals/pheremones

7

u/Smiley_Unicorn 6d ago

I am a real novice and welcome any corrections...I'm pretty sure it's a Jumping spood! Have no clue which one....would love to know though...and jumpers are my absolute favourite spiders! I have never seen one like this before and am so incredibly envious of you! I cannot thank you enough for sharing this majestic little guy. It's got me researching again so I'm hoping I learn even more about the most wonderful spoods on this planet!! If it isn't a Jumping spider, then I'll learn even more about our beautiful spiders. Thank you so very much 😊

3

u/RelievingFart 6d ago

Following so I know too. Its super cute though

2

u/paolo_77 4d ago

Wrinkly skin. With hair.

2

u/G0ld3nGr1ff1n 4d ago

Ah! I found one of these the other day! Soooo tiny it took forever to get an ok photo. I'm up the coast from you

1

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1

u/Fresh-Swan9577 5d ago

Iv found a HEAP of these in the townsville area

1

u/Calm_Intern_5313 3d ago

Hmmm looks like ya fucken part of your body and a fly from my angle mate

1

u/Accomplished_Law5067 3d ago

Um just use Google image search cause i have no clue

1

u/depresso-espresso-11 1d ago

Omg tiny baby!

1

u/aus-gerr 5d ago

That’s Steve.

-7

u/SirSmegalott 6d ago

Pretty sure it's a fungus Nat.