| Latrodectus erythromelas | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Theridiidae |
| Genus: | Latrodectus |
| Species: | L. erythromelas |
| Binomial name | |
| Latrodectus erythromelas Schmidt & Klaas, 1991 | |
Latrodectus erythromelas is a species of venomous spider of the genus Latrodectus , commonly called widow spiders. It is native to India and Sri Lanka. [1]
Female is larger than male, and the average total length is about 8.8 mm (0.35 in). Eyes are black, where eye region dark with blackish-red margins. The blackish carapace is much rounded and covered with fine hairs. The cephalothorax is also black and also covered with fine hair. On the dorsal surface of the cephalothorax, there is a prominent red stripe. [2]
Latrodectus mactans, known as southern black widow or simply black widow, and the shoe-button spider, is a venomous species of spider in the genus Latrodectus. The females are well known for their distinctive black and red coloring and for the fact that they will occasionally eat their mates after reproduction. The species is native to North America. The venom can cause pain and other symptoms, but is rarely fatal to healthy humans.
Latrodectus is a broadly distributed genus of spiders with several species that are commonly known as the true widows. This group is composed of those often loosely called black widow spiders, brown widow spiders, and similar spiders. However, the diversity of species is much greater. A member of the family Theridiidae, this genus contains 34 species, which include several North American "black widows". Besides these, North America also has the red widow Latrodectus bishopi and the brown widow Latrodectus geometricus, which, in addition to North America, has a much wider geographic distribution. Elsewhere, others include the European black widow, the Australian redback spider and the closely related New Zealand katipō, several different species in Southern Africa that can be called button spiders, and the South American black-widow spiders. Species vary widely in size. In most cases, the females are dark-coloured and can be readily identified by reddish markings on the central underside (ventral) abdomen, which are often hourglass-shaped.
The redback spider, also known as the Australian black widow, is a species of highly venomous spider believed to originate in South Australia or adjacent Western Australian deserts, but now found throughout Australia, Southeast Asia and New Zealand, with colonies elsewhere outside Australia. It is a member of the cosmopolitan genus Latrodectus, the widow spiders. The adult female is easily recognised by her spherical black body with a prominent red stripe on the upper side of her abdomen and an hourglass-shaped red/orange streak on the underside. Females usually have a body length of about 10 millimetres (0.4 in), while the male is much smaller, being only 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long.
Latrodectus bishopi is the scientific name for the red widow spider, which is endemic to the Florida scrub habitat of central and southern Florida, where it lives primarily in sand dunes dominated by sand pine, Pinus clausa – a type of vegetation found only in Florida and coastal Alabama.
The katipō is an endangered species of spider native to New Zealand. It is one of many species in the genus Latrodectus, such as the Australian redback, and the North American black widow. The species is venomous to humans, capable of delivering a potentially dangerous bite. It is a small to medium-sized spider, with the female having a round black or brown pea-sized body. Red katipō females found in the South Island and the lower half of the North Island, are always black, and their abdomen has a distinctive red stripe bordered in white. In black katipō females found in the upper half of the North Island, this stripe is absent, pale, yellow, or replaced with cream-coloured blotches. These two forms were previously thought to be separate species. The male is much smaller than the female and quite different in appearance: white with black stripes and red diamond-shaped markings. Katipō are mainly found living in sand dunes close to the seashore. They are found throughout most of coastal New Zealand except the far south and west. Katipō feed mainly on ground dwelling insects, caught in an irregular tangled web spun amongst dune plants or other debris.
Latrodectus geometricus, commonly known as the brown widow, brown button spider, grey widow, brown black widow, house button spider or geometric button spider, is one of the widow spiders in the genus Latrodectus. As such, it is a 'cousin' to the more infamous Latrodectus mactans. L. geometricus has black and white patterns on the sides of its abdomen as well as an orange-yellow colored hourglass shape marking. Their eggs are easily identified by points that project from all over the egg sacs. L. geometricus are found all over the world, but are believed to originate in Africa or South America. Their bites, though painful, are not considered to be dangerous.
Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, also known as the Mediterranean black widow or the European black widow, is a species in the genus Latrodectus of the widow spiders. It is commonly found throughout the Mediterranean region, ranging from southern Iberia to southwest and central Asia, hence the name. Specimens from central Asia are also known by the binomial name Latrodectus lugubris; that name, however, is now considered improper, though it is still commonly found in the literature. Latrodectus tredecimguttatus was previously considered a subspecies of Latrodectus mactans.
Latrodectus variolus, the northern black widow spider or northern widow, is a venomous species of spider in the genus Latrodectus of the family Theridiidae. The population is closely related to the southern black widow, Latrodectus mactans, and the western black widow, Latrodectus hesperus, of the genus.
Peucetia viridana is a species of spider found in India and Myanmar.
The Mexican redleg or red-legged tarantula is a species of terrestrial tarantula closely related to the famous Mexican redknee tarantula. Like the redknee it is a docile tarantula and popular in the pet trade. It is slow growing and, like many tarantulas, females can live for decades.
Carrhotus xanthogramma is a species of jumping spider belonging to the family Salticidae.
Heliophanus cupreus, the copper sun jumper, is a species of jumping spider belonging to the family Salticidae.
Afraflacilla roberti is a species of jumping spider in the genus Afraflacilla that is found in Kenya. The spider was first defined in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska. She originally placed the species in the genus Pseudicius, but Jerzy Prószyński moved it in 2017 to Afraflacilla on the basis of shape of its copulatory organs. The species is named after Robert Jackson, the collector who found the first example. The spider is small, with a cephalothorax between 1.7 and 1.6 mm long and an abdomen between 1.7 and 2.4 mm long. The female is larger than the male. The carapace is a dark brown elongated oval with a black eye field covered in white hairs. The abdomen is blackish-brown and is marked by two pairs of white patches and a small number of faint chevrons at the very rear. Some female examples have a generally featureless dark abdomen and others have additional small rounded patches at the edge. Some have light stripes to the front of the abdomen. The spider has yellow legs, apart from the front pair, which are brown, longer and stouter. It stridulates using its legs and carapace. Afraflacilla roberti can be differentiated from other species in the genus by its copulatory organs. The male has a long thin tibial apophysis. The female has narrow coiled insemination ducts.
Evarcha karas is a species of jumping spider in the genus Evarcha that was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska. Originally only found in Namibia, it has also been discovered living in South Africa. It is a ground-dwelling spider that mainly lives in dry Nama Karoo shrublands. Only the male has been described. It is small, with an oval dark brown to black cephalothorax and a thinner ovoid abdomen that are each between 2.2 and 2.6 mm in length. The abdomen has thin white stripes along its middle and sides, which helps differentiate it from the related Evarcha flagellaris that also lives in the same area of the world. It can also be distinguished by its copulatory organs, including the long spike on its palpal tibia, or tibial apophysis, that has a tip with two points, and its very long thin embolus.
Euophrys bifida is a species of jumping spider in the genus Euophrys that is endemic to South Africa. The species was first described in 2014 by Wanda Wesołowska, Galina Azarkina and Anthony Russell-Smith. It is a small spider, with a body that consists of a cephalothorax that is between 1.2 and 1.4 mm long and an abdomen between 1.2 and 1.7 mm (0.07 in) long. The cephalothorax has a brown carapace, or topside, while the abdomen is marked by a mosaic pattern of dark patches on a light background. While the female has uniform light brown legs, the male's legs are generally darker but have yellowish-grey sections. The spider is most easily differentiated from others species in the genus by the unusual arrangement of its teeth. It has lines of stiff hairs in its mouth with two teeth to the rear. It is the cleft shape of these teeth that is the source of the species name.
Euophrys meridionalis is a species of jumping spider in the genus Euophrys that is known as the Royal Natal Euophrys Jumping Spider. Endemic to South Africa, the species was first described in 2014 by Wanda Wesołowska, Galina Azarkina and Anthony Russell-Smith. It is a very small spider, smaller than most in the genus, with a body that consists of a cephalothorax that measures between 1 and 1.2 mm long and a abdomen that is between 1 and 1.3 mm (0.05 in) long. The carapace, the topside of the cephalothorax, is dark brown and the underside of the cephalothorax, or sternum, is brownish. The pattern on the abdomen differs between the female and the male. The female has a dark surface marked with light patches, including a series of chevrons in the middle. The male has a plain brown scutum in the top but a yellowish-grey or blackish underside with a pattern light dotted lines. The male has generally brown legs, apart from the front pair, which are black and yellow, while the female's legs are all yellowish with some brown parts. The male has a longer embolus than Euophrys falciger, but it otherwise similar, apart from its size.
Euophrys recta is a species of jumping spider in the genus Euophrys that is endemic to South Africa. The species was first described in 2014 by Wanda Wesołowska, Galina Azarkina and Anthony Russell-Smith. It is a small spider, with a body that consists of a cephalothorax that is typically 1.4 mm (0.06 in) long and an abdomen that is typically 1.5 mm (0.06 in) long. The carapace, the topside of the cephalothorax, is brown and the sternum, or underside, is black. The abdomen has a pattern of yellow and dark brown stripes on top and is blackish underneath. The copulatory organs are distinctive amongst spiders in the genus, particularly male's long tibial apophysis, or protrusion on the palpal tibia, and small embolic disk, or disk on the palpal bulb at the base of the embolus. The female has not been described.
Chalcoscirtus picinus is a species of jumping spider in the genus Chalcoscirtus that has been only found in the United Arab Emirates. The spider was first described in 2011 by Wanda Wesołowska and Antonius van Harten. It is a small spider, with a cephalothorax typically 1.4 mm (0.06 in) long and an abdomen typically 2 mm (0.08 in) long. It is hard to tell externally from other spiders as it is similar in size to others in the genus and, like many others, lacks a distinctive pattern on its body. Its carapace is generally greyish-brown with a black eye field while its abdomen is blackish-grey. The spider's copulatory organs. are its most distinguishing feature. The female has a small window made of membrane in the middle of its epigyne, which is narrower than that found in other species in the genus. The male has not been described.
Cosmophasis albipes is a species of jumping spider in the genus Cosmophasis. The type specimen of the species is a female, collected on 1 August in nowadays Guinea.
Euophrys purcelli or Willowmore's Euophrys jumping spider is a species of jumping spider in the genus Euophrys that is endemic to South Africa. It lives in karoo and succulent karoo. The female was first described in 1903 by George and Elizabeth Peckham and the male in 2012 by Wanda Wesołowska. It is a small spider, with a body that consists of an oval cephalothorax that measures between 1.5 and 2.0 mm long and an abdomen that is between 1.4 and 2.3 mm long. The female has a larger abdomen than the male. The spider is generally dark brown to blackish and covered in delicate or colourless hairs. The spider's spinnerets are yellow to brownish or greyish. Its copulatory organs are distinctive. The female has the longest accessory glands in the genus and the male has a short curl for an embolus and a very thin appendage on its palpal tibia, or tibial apophysis.
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