Early yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, as I went out to my tool shed in the back garden, I was happy to find one of my favorite spiders on the door, just waiting for me to invite it 
to a photo session on one of our garden flowers, and I was only too happy to oblige.It’s a Holoplatys apressus, and its compact shape allows it to squeeze itself into some very tight 
spaces, which has resulted in its common name, which is “flattened jumping spider.” It is officially listed as endemic to New Zealand but it has very close relatives in Australia and, 
as it is commonly found in driftwood, it is thought to have quite possibly immigrated from there. Males and females are quite similar (males may have longitudinal abdominal 
stripes), so I’m not sure to which gender my volunteer belonged. It was very cooperative and we enjoyed each other’s company for a good hour or so. (Click on a photo to enlarge.)
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krikitarts 
Don’t know that I’ve ever seen a spider of that shape, somewhat reminiscent of a scorpion. The blue disc and orange stamens of the flower intermittently called my attention away from said spider. Good to hear that you and it got along so well.
I think that part of the scorpion resemblance is the beefier, more muscular-looking front legs. We know that the flowers (South African daisies, Osteospermum) are invasives here, but we love them anyway.
I’ve never seen a flower with such blue disc flowers. It’s lovely, but a little odd. It reminds me of the carnations and such that get dyed before being sold in grocery stores. I really smiled at the second photo. The spider looks like he’s had a hard day, and just needs to relax for a while.
I know that feeling oh, so well. I was happy to give him (?) an easy hour before releasing him back into the garden.
What a lovely little fellow (lady)! As Steve above says, quite scorpion-like in shape. Love the colours in the daisy.
We are very fond of these daisies and wish they were native here. At least they are not at all aggressively invasive.
Beautiful pictures, I especially like the final one, an almost surreal look. :)
I kept hoping for the chance for a face-to-face opportunity, and my patience finally paid off.
That is quite a spider you have there, with an extraordinary body shape! Nice one, Gary!
I see one of these every few weeks or so and am always excited when they turn up. They are usually pretty cooperative, to my frequent delight.
It’s a beauty. Fine shots!
Thanks, Belinda, that was a most rewarding session!
A very handsome species. I like the somewhat peekaboo look of the final shot.
It’s so rewarding when they look right at you like that.
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