Animal field guide
Tunnelweb Spider
Porrhothele antipodum
Tunnelweb Spider teaches Patient Ambush from a sheet of silk under a log. It builds no snare in the air, only a tube it retreats into, and takes what walks across the doorway.
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Get AnimalDexTunnelweb Spider at a glance
Arachnid · Native range keys: australia_oceania · Rare
Known for: Silk tube built under logs, Glossy dark brown body with long, Large, Retreats backwards into the tunnel rather than
Understand the animal
Understand the Tunnelweb Spider
Factual biology first: what this animal is like, where it lives, how it survives, and why those traits exist.
01
Introduction to Tunnelweb Spider
Tunnelweb Spider teaches Patient Ambush from a sheet of silk under a log. It builds no snare in the air, only a tube it retreats into, and takes what walks across the doorway.
How to identify a Tunnelweb Spider
- Silk tube built under logs, stones and loose bark
- Glossy dark brown body with long, prominent spinnerets
- Large, forward-facing fangs
- Retreats backwards into the tunnel rather than fleeing across open ground
Why Tunnelweb Spider are interesting
- It is one of New Zealand's largest and most commonly encountered native spiders.
- It is a relative of the Australian funnel-webs, but its bite is painful rather than dangerous.
- It is a determined predator of other spiders, including ones larger than itself.
- The tunnel has no sticky web — prey is caught by hand at the entrance.
02
Adaptations and biological abilities
03
Why does Tunnelweb Spider behave this way?
- Silk tube built under logs, stones and loose bark
- Glossy dark brown body with long, prominent spinnerets
- Large, forward-facing fangs
- Retreats backwards into the tunnel rather than fleeing across open ground
Tunnelwebs are nocturnal and stay in the tube by day, coming to the entrance after dark. Their rhythm keeps them under cover in the damp, which is also where their prey moves.
04
Why Native range keys: australia_oceania. Under logs?
Habitat: Native range keys: australia_oceania. Under logs, stones, loose bark and garden debris across New Zealand, because Patient Ambush needs a covered doorway with traffic passing it and no need for an exposed web.
Native range: Native range keys: australia_oceania. Under logs, stones, loose bark and garden debris across New Zealand, because Patient Ambush needs a covered doorway with traffic passing it and no need for an exposed web.
Native range
Natural range, not this specific capture location.
Native range keys: australia_oceania. Under logs, stones, loose bark and garden debris across New Zealand, because Patient Ambush needs a covered doorway with traffic passing it and no need for an exposed web.
05
Why this diet?
Beetles, wētā, slaters, other spiders and whatever crosses the tunnel mouth. This diet supports Patient Ambush because none of it is chased — it is taken at arm's length from inside cover.
06
Activity, rest, and lifespan
Tunnelwebs are nocturnal and stay in the tube by day, coming to the entrance after dark. Their rhythm keeps them under cover in the damp, which is also where their prey moves.
Females can live for several years in the same tunnel, extending and repairing it. The principle deepens because a well-sited doorway becomes more productive the longer it is held.
07
Tunnelweb Spider reproduction
Females guard a pale egg sac inside the tunnel, and spiderlings stay in the tube before dispersing to build their own. Offspring fit the principle because the first lesson is the doorway itself.
Males are slimmer and longer-legged and leave the tunnel to search for females. Both sexes share the same build and the same way of feeding.
08
Predators, threats, and defense
Birds, centipedes, parasitic wasps and introduced mammals take tunnelwebs, especially when logs are turned over. The tunnel answers this by giving one defended entrance instead of an open web.
09
Conservation and rarity
Rarity: Rare · 70/100. AnimalDex canonical rarity score: 70/100, maintained by the live indexed species profile.
- Observe from a respectful distance and avoid changing the animal's behavior.
- Do not block feeding, shelter, nesting, or travel routes.
- Use a live camera capture without handling or staging wildlife.
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Ask AnimalDex about the Tunnelweb Spider
Ask about its biology, behavior, abilities, survival strategy, symbolism, or what its strategy can teach you. Answers stay grounded in this species page.
Anonymous: 3/day. Signed-in: 10/day. Pro: 30/day fair use.
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Where to find them
Where to find Tunnelweb Spider
To find Tunnelweb Spider in the wild, focus on the exact habitat patches that match its body design and daily behavior, not just the broad country where it exists. You usually do better by working one good piece of habitat inside native range keys: australia_oceania. Under logs, stones, loose bark and garden debris across New Zealand, because Patient Ambush needs a covered doorway with traffic passing it and no need for an exposed web. than by covering too much ground.
- Headlands, reef edges, island colonies, tidal channels, or productive coastal water
- Burrow systems, sandy banks, fallen logs, or ground with clear den entrances
- Sunlit logs, exposed branches, warm rocks, or regular perch sites used for scanning
Animal field guide
Tunnelweb Spider
Tunnelweb Spider teaches Patient Ambush from a sheet of silk under a log. It builds no snare in the air, only a tube it retreats into, and takes what walks across the doorway.
Native range
Natural range, not this capture location
Native range keys: australia_oceania. Under logs, stones, loose bark and garden debris across New Zealand, because Patient Ambush needs a covered doorway with traffic passing it and no need for an exposed web.
Search near meAnimalDex stats
Dominance
30
Speed
12
Size
5
Intelligence
20
Rarity
70%
Total
137
Size scale
Scientific name
Porrhothele antipodum
Category
Arachnid
Habitat
Native range keys: australia_oceania. Under logs, stones, loose bark and garden debris across New Zealand, because Patient Ambush needs a covered doorway with traffic passing it and no need for an exposed web.
Rarity
Rare · 70/100
Native range
Native range keys: australia_oceania. Under logs, stones, loose bark and garden debris across New Zealand, because Patient Ambush needs a covered doorway with traffic passing it and no need for an exposed web.
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