Photograph
Atypus piceus
A frontal portrait of Atypus piceus revealing its compact dark body and unusually large forward-pointing chelicerae.
Beyond the frame
Atypus piceus spends most of its life inside a silk-lined underground tube that continues above the soil as a camouflaged sleeve. When an insect steps onto it, the spider bites through the silk and pulls the prey inside.
Collection
Life Up Close