seen in Costa Rica, please help identify!

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frogs5 West Roxbury, MA Jun 02, 2009

I saw this spider in Costa Rica at night in the jungle. I am curious to know what kind of spider it is. Any help is appreciated.

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Post #6629441
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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Jun 02, 2009

This spider is in the family Ctenidae (wandering spiders), genus Cupiennius; appearing very similar to the Central American species, Cupiennius salei -
see http://tinyurl.com/djvx6l for an image. These spiders are quite similar in habit to wolf spiders, actively hunting their prey which may include small vertebrates. Cupiennius spp. are not known to be dangerous to humans, but some species in another genus (Phoneutria) are potentially quite dangerous indeed.

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frogs5 West Roxbury, MA Jun 05, 2009

Thank you for your response. I have another pic of a spider I took on the same trip in a different jungle in Costa Rica, it is much less clear unfortunately, and although the spiders are both white-ish in color I think this one looks different so out of curiosity...

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Post #6643847
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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Jun 05, 2009

Unfortuneatly, this image is too unclear for me to attempt a precise identification. It could be another ctenid (there are several species oof these in Costa Rica), or it could be a wolf spider.

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