Shreyas Kuchibhotla

Year 4 MEng Biomedical Engineering at Imperial College - Interested in snakes, spiders and centipedes (and their toxins) | Writer | TEDx speaker | Photographer

[Shreyas Kuchibhotla @shreyasknv]

@RigdenDebbie @BritishSpiders @georgecmcgavin I’ve never seen a female/juvenile puella that looked like this. The ‘bleeding heart’ is usually very prominent even in small specimens. This one does look interesting, but having no experience with N. flavescens myself I don’t want to make any assertions here:

[incidental naturalist @IncNaturalist]

Sometimes you get a surprise when you look up 🤩 female Wagler’s Pit Viper

[Shreyas Kuchibhotla @shreyasknv]

@BerryTylan @BritishSpiders @graemelyons @cofnod That ocular region looks a bit like Acartauchenius!

[Richard Jones @bugmanjones]

Still valid.

[incidental naturalist @IncNaturalist]

Malayan Bridle Snake (Lycodon subannulatus). This rarely seen harmless little snake was making its way up a tree while checking under each piece of bark for a tasty morsel.

[Shreyas Kuchibhotla @shreyasknv]

@TimothyJonas @Sybalan @BritishSpiders Could also just be a young Eratigena - they often have faint leg annulations when immature, plus the abdomen patterning seems more like one

[Shreyas Kuchibhotla @shreyasknv]

@MondaySpider @ForTheSpiders Abdomen pattern looks spot on for T. tenuis - I’m not confident on the epigyne though. Do you have any other Tenuiphantes in the region?

[Shreyas Kuchibhotla @shreyasknv]

@andydouglas1967 Even movement patterns - Monocephalus often have a start-stop pattern which is markedly different from quite a few similarly sized spiders, for example. Little things you pick up after disappointedly staring at the same epigyne for the 50th time.

[Shreyas Kuchibhotla @shreyasknv]

@andydouglas1967 Locket and Millidge go a bit more into detail with habitus than Roberts, if you want to get started - but most of what I can tell in the field is from personal experience (admittedly, quite limited in sample size).

[Shreyas Kuchibhotla @shreyasknv]

@andydouglas1967 (Latter not visible here)

[Shreyas Kuchibhotla @shreyasknv]

@andydouglas1967 It’s gotten to the point where if I find one of those mating plugs on a specimen, I’m almost certain it’s going to be this. Those huge and closely-set PMEs are also a giveaway.

[Shreyas Kuchibhotla @shreyasknv]

The appreciation I have for this genus is rather unrequited!

[Marc A. Milne @ForTheSpiders]

#Arachtober 30th is Walckenaeria day, so get ready!

Walckenaeria is a the second largest linyphiid genus in North America, with 68 species. There are 199 species in the world! As you can imagine, there are many diverse forms in Walckenaeria. I'll explain a few.

[Shreyas Kuchibhotla @shreyasknv]

@andydouglas1967 @BritishSpiders @BerryTylan This looks more like tenuis to me. T. zimmermanni makes almost always have a pale carapace and a ‘cleaner’ abdomen pattern.

[Shreyas Kuchibhotla @shreyasknv]

@BritishSpiders @andydouglas1967 @BerryTylan I find that genius and zimmermanni actually have (somewhat) consistent changes in habitus. Tenuiphantes palps are not the easiest but I think a habitus shot here might actually help a bit

[Shreyas Kuchibhotla @shreyasknv]

@alicebw4 I don’t think T. pedestris can be considered coastal - I’ve found it in all sorts of habitats including woodland.

[Shreyas Kuchibhotla @shreyasknv]

@alicebw4 @BritishSpiders @arachtober @BerryTylan @chalkspring @Reefpaths @UKgardenspiders Zelotes are amazing! Identifying them, on the other hand…

[@jtchi.bsky.social @TchilinguirianJ]

Microctenonyx subitaneus (Linyphiidae) next to a Trochosa terricola (Lycosidae) pedipalp :)

[incidental naturalist @IncNaturalist]

A gorgeous Paradise Tree Snake watching the world go by.

[Shreyas Kuchibhotla @shreyasknv]

@KalaKemangga The faint white radial markings on the carapace also match. Nice find! What was the habitat?