"We'd never seen anything like it."

Using her son's bug catcher she caught the spider and gave the Adelaide Museum a call that confirmed that the creature was a Male Mouse Spider.

The spider is a member of the funnel-web and trapdoor family with the males coming out looking for a mate after the first winter rains.

It is quite common and is found throughout Australia.

Information Officer at the Adelaide Museum Mike Gemmell said the spider is "not regarded as being dangerous," however its bite causes instant pain.

The museum doesn’t have a good specimen of a male mouse spider and was keen to secure this one.

The spider is likely to go on display in the new biodiversity gallery on everything that lives in South Australia that is currently under construction at the museum.