Hidden Aussie creature captured in 'rare' photos

Australian wildlife has long been branded 'weird and wonderful' by global standards, with both admirers and fearful onlookers in resounding agreement.

From highly venomous snakes to questionable sounding birds, the capabilities of our native animals inspire awe, with a creature recently spotted in Melbourne undoubtedly joining the list. One "lucky" local shared a picture of the well-concealed arachnid on social media on Monday, inspiring an influx of commentary.

"Who would have thought what looked like a broken off twig was actually a wonderful little wrap-around spider," they wrote.The wrap-around spider was barely visible on the branch, easy overlooked as the stub of a broken twig. Source: Facebook/IanWallace

Rare sighting of 'common' Australian spider

As the caption suggests, wrap-around spiders are often overlooked by city dwellers and bushwalkers alike as they are easily mistaken for a broken off nub on a stick.

"They're reasonably common," moderator of the Facebook spider identification page Emma Collins told Yahoo News Australia. "But being so small and having such excellent camouflage, you can be pretty hard-pressed to spot them, even if you're looking for them. It's rare."

Despite being a spider enthusiast for over five years, Emma has never been lucky enough to spot one in the wild, sharing that even experienced wildlife photographers haven't had the pleasure.

With an average wrap-around spider measuring short of one centimetre, these creatures are harmless to humans despite being described as "mildly venomous". "The spider venom themselves is not considered harmful to humans. Being so small, it would be very unlikely their bite would even penetrate human skin," Emma continued.

'Spiders get a bit of a bad reputation'

The recent sighting in Melbourne contends with the observation of another "orb-weaver" spider spotted in northern NSW in 2020. The "rarely-seen" acroaspis spider was seen by walkers despite the creature initially appearing as a twig between two rocks, showing the impressive camouflage abilities many species possess.

"Spiders get a bit of a bad reputation, especially in Australia. It's really nice to spread some accurate knowledge of them," Emma said.

Photo: dustaway (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Time to add more species to the list of animals who have perfected the art of camouflage. Known as the wrap-around spiders, Dolophones is a genus of spider found primarily in Australia and Oceania. The genus contains 17 species known for their abilities to blend seamlessly into their surroundings during the day by wrapping themselves around twigs or flattening against tree bark.

Most wrap-around spiders have an upper abdomen shaped like an inverted disk, composed of smaller disks with slits in them. This allows the spider to perfectly wrap itself around branches during the day, fooling potential predators. When night falls, the spiders become more active, spinning webs in between trees.

Females typically measure about 9 mm in length with males significantly smaller at around 5-6 mm. They might spook you if you come upon one out the woods, but don't worry—their venom doesn't appear to be harmful to humans. Who needs venom when you can hide so easily? It's incredible to see the patterns and colorations of the different Dolophones species and just how well they blend into whatever type of tree they're hidden against.