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Silverbacks
Genus Idiommata, family Barychelidae
Male Silverback, with silver sheen of hair on its head. 
Female Silverback.
Identification
Large brown to black spiders; the darker males have a silver sheen of hair on their head, brown females have a golden sheen. The body of both is black and hairy. The "feet" and underside of the legs is covered with dense hair that flashes iridescent in some light.
Diversity & distribution
A number of species, most new, occur throughout Australia, several in Queensland.
They are found in both rainforest and open forest throughout Australia, except Tasmania.
Burrow
Short, open, often with a collar of leaves; a short horizontal flask down the burrow is sealed by a thick door.
Bite
One bite to a child in Perth caused a serious reaction.
Similar species
Being large, they can be confused with a tarantula but the spinnerets of silverbacks are hardly noticeable from above.
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