The body colour is dark brown, with a whitish pattern on the dorsum.

The legs are black, with bright hairs and strikingly robust spines.

[3] Oxyopes heterophthalmus is a long legged, diurnal[2] hunting spider which is capable of running very fast and jumping on their prey in a similar fashion to a cat, leading to their common name of lynx spider.

Their eyesight is not as good as that of the jumping spiders but they can see their prey from a distance of up to 10 centimetres (4 in).

[4] The female spins a cocoon which is attached to a plant, she guards this until the eggs hatch.