Loxosceles deserta

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Loxosceles deserta
Desert Recluse (Loxosceles deserta).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Sicariidae
Genus: Loxosceles
Species:
L. deserta
Binomial name
Loxosceles deserta
Gertsch, 1973
Loxosceles deserta range.png
Range of L. deserta within the United States shown in yellow. Mexican range not available.

Loxosceles deserta, commonly known as the desert recluse, is a recluse spider of the family Sicariidae. [1] It is found in Mexico and the United States.

Contents

The desert recluse is commonly misidentified as L. unicolor (of South America) [2] or as L. reclusa (the brown recluse of the southern and midwestern states), two spiders which do not live anywhere near the vicinity. [2]

Distribution

This spider is found in the eastern half of southern California, the southern tip of Nevada, the western half of Arizona, throughout northern, central, eastern, and southwestern New Mexico, the southwestern corner of Utah [3] [4] and into northwestern Mexico. [5]

It dwells in the wild, and its only domestic occurrence is that near native vegetation, avoiding urban areas in the desert and even green lawns. [2] The spiders are particularly dense in packrat dens. [6]

Venom

Lesions of the skin can be caused by the venomous bite of the desert recluse. [7] This occurs through the same mechanism responsible for the effects of the brown recluse bite.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

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The brown recluse, Sicariidae is a recluse spider with necrotic venom. Similar to those of other recluse spiders, their bites sometimes require medical attention. The brown recluse is one of three spiders in North America with dangerous venom, the others being the black widow and the Chilean recluse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recluse spider</span> Group of venomous spiders

The recluse spiders, also known as brown spiders, fiddle-backs, violin spiders, and reapers, is a genus of spiders that was first described by R. T. Lowe in 1832. They are venomous spiders known for their bite, which sometimes produces a characteristic set of symptoms known as loxoscelism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sicariidae</span> Family of spiders

Sicariidae is a family of six-eyed venomous spiders known for their potentially necrotic bites. The family consists of three genera and about 160 species. Well known spiders in this family include the brown recluse spider and the six-eyed sand spider.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediterranean recluse spider</span> Species of spider

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<i>Sicarius</i> (spider) Genus of recluse spiders

Sicarius is a genus of recluse spiders that is potentially medically significant to humans. It is one of three genera in its family, all venomous spiders known for a bite that can induce loxoscelism. They live in deserts and arid regions of the Neotropics, and females use a mixture of sand and silk when producing egg sacs. The name is Latin for assassin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilean recluse spider</span> Species of arachnid

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<i>Agelenopsis aperta</i> Species of spider

Agelenopsis aperta, also known as the desert grass spider or funnel-web spider, is a species of spider belonging to the family Agelenidae and the genus Agelenopsis. It is found in dry and arid regions across the southern United States and into northwestern Mexico. Their body is about 13–18 mm long and they have relatively long legs in order to run after their prey. Desert grass spiders can withstand very low temperatures even though they do not cold harden. It constructs the characteristic funnel-shaped webs in crevices where the funnel will fit, where they wait in the tube for prey which they can run after using their long legs. They often hunt for their prey at night.

<i>Scytodes globula</i> Species of spider

Scytodes globula, the Chilean tiger spider, is a predatory spider of the family Scytodidae. In Spanish, it is known as araña tigre, or "tiger spider", but is also well known as "long-legged spider" or "spitting spider". It has achieved fame by being the only natural predator of the extremely common and dangerous Chilean recluse spider.

The pathophysiology of a spider bite is due to the effect of its venom. A spider envenomation occurs whenever a spider injects venom into the skin. Not all spider bites inject venom – a dry bite, and the amount of venom injected can vary based on the type of spider and the circumstances of the encounter. The mechanical injury from a spider bite is not a serious concern for humans. Some spider bites do leave a large enough wound that infection may be a concern. However, it is generally the toxicity of spider venom that poses the most risk to human beings; several spiders are known to have venom that can cause injury to humans in the amounts that a spider will typically inject when biting.

Chanbria is a genus of camel spiders. It consists of four species found in the Sonoran Desert in Mexico and the southwestern United States.

<i>Hexophthalma</i> Genus of spiders

Hexophthalma is a genus of spiders in the family Sicariidae. Although the genus was originally erected in 1878, it was merged into the genus Sicarius in the 1890s, and remained unused until revived in 2017, when it was discovered that the African species then placed in Sicarius were distinct. The English name six-eyed sand spiders is used for members of the genus, particularly Hexophthalma hahni.

<i>Sicarius thomisoides</i> Species of spider

Sicarius thomisoides is a species of spider in the family Sicariidae, found in Chile. It is the type species of the genus Sicarius. Its correct name has been the source of confusion. It has often been known by the synonym Sicarius terrosus, a name which has also often been used incorrectly for other species.

<i>Loxosceles intermedia</i> Species of spider

Loxosceles intermedia, the Brazilian brown recluse spider, is a highly venomous spider species in the family Sicariidae native to Brazil and Argentina.

<i>Loxosceles gaucho</i> Species of spider

Loxosceles gaucho commonly known in English as the gaucho spider. is a highly venomous recluse spider endemic to South America.

Loxosceles sonora is a species of venomous recluse spider in the family Sicariidae. It is an relative of the species L. deserta via allopatric speciation. The etymology of the species name is the Mexican state of Sonora. They are also found in the neighboring state of Sinaloa.

References

  1. Norman I. Platnick (2011). "Family Sicariidae". The World Spider Catalog, version 11.5. American Museum of Natural History . Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 R. S. Vetter (2008). "Spiders of the genus Loxosceles: a review of biological, medical and psychological aspects regarding envenomations" (PDF). Journal of Arachnology . 36 (3): 150–163. doi:10.1636/RSt08-06.1. S2CID   7746032.
  3. Chris Wirth (October 7, 2005). "Distribution of brown spiders native to the United States". BugGuide. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
  4. Ingi Agnarsson, Jonathan A. Coddington & Laura J. May-Collado (2007). "Elongated pedicillate setae: a putative sensory system and synapomorphy of spiders" (PDF). Journal of Arachnology . 35 (3): 411–426. doi:10.1636/SH07-01.1. S2CID   43449535. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-07-09.
  5. according to Gertsch, 1973; "Loxosceles deserta". Interagency Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  6. Jennifer Parks, William V. Stoecker & Charles Kristensen (2006). "Observations on Loxosceles reclusa (Araneae, Sicariidae) feeding on short-horned grasshoppers" (PDF). Journal of Arachnology . 34 (1): 221–226. doi:10.1636/S04-32.1. S2CID   67825881.
  7. F. E. Russell, W. G. Waldron & M. B. Madon (1969). "Bites by the brown spiders Loxosceles unicolor and Loxosceles arizonica in California and Arizona". Toxicon . 7 (2): 109–117. Bibcode:1969Txcn....7..109R. doi:10.1016/0041-0101(69)90073-7. PMID   4241848.