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Stanwellia grisea
A large black spider is protecting her brood of spiderlings. They use trip lines of silk strands radiating from around the entrance of the burrow to detect prey. The burrow doesn't actually have a trap door, despite the name.
This was found under a small log. Common in suburban gardens around Melbourne http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/797...
The Melbourne Trapdoor Spider has large fangs and can inflict a deep and painful wound, but the venom is not dangerous. http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/Environment...
No delsuion there Martin. I remember how shocked I was at the size. They ARE big.
Thank you for the ID update Argy Bee. this sounds correct to me. It looked bigger and blacker to me, as spiders tend to do.
Good one martin. She looks just like the one I dug up last year. http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/797... ?