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Project Noah Nature School
Pholcus phalangioides
greyish tan spider with "impossibly long legs" (as described by my Spiders of North America identification guide by Richard Bradley) These spiders also have a darker triangle on their cephalothorax as well as darker coloration near the leg joints. The abdomen is more slender than wide. These spiders are very large but are harmless to humans and will tend to eat other spiders. If you don't like spiders, then you may actually want to consider leaving these spiders in your home.
Typically found in corners of rooms. This was in the corner of my bedroom up near the top of a door frame.
The spider in both pictures is the same spider. The second photo is after freezing the spider to observe it more closely. Once unfrozen, the spider was released outside. Freezing spiders is a humane way of killing them if one wishes to do so, but if done for a very short period of time can also allow one to take a closer look at key identifying characteristics of the spider to properly identify it with minimal harm done to the spider.
Spotted on Sep 4, 2015
Submitted on Dec 4, 2015
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