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Comment: This seems like a near-copy of the lead of the Latrodectus article. If you really have any new content to add about the topic, please add it to that article instead. Flemmish Nietzsche (talk) 06:48, 22 June 2024 (UTC)
| Latrodectus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Female Latrodectus hesperus, or western black widow | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Theridiidae |
| Genus: | Latrodectus Walckenaer, 1805[1] |
| Type species | |
| L. tredecimguttatus (Rossi, 1790)
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| Species | |
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34, see text | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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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" (southern black widow Latrodectus mactans, western black widow Latrodectus hesperus, and northern black widow Latrodectus variolus). 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 (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus), the Australian redback spider (Latrodectus hasseltii) and the closely related New Zealand katipō (Latrodectus katipo), several different species in Southern Africa that can be called button spiders, and the South American black-widow spiders (Latrodectus corallinus and Latrodectus curacaviensis). 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.
These small spiders have an unusually potent venom containing the neurotoxinlatrotoxin, which causes the condition latrodectism, both named after the genus. Female widow spiders have unusually large venom glands, and their bite can be particularly harmful to large vertebrates, including humans. However, despite their notoriety, Latrodectus bites rarely cause death or produce serious complications.[citation needed] Only the bites of the females are dangerous to humans.
References
edit- The multiple actions of black widow spider toxins and their selective use in neurosecretion studies". Toxicon. 213 (5): 527–542. Doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2004.02.008 PMID 15066411
- "Myocarditis after black widow spider envenomation". The American Journal of Emergency Medicine. 630 (5): e1–3. Doi:10.1016/j.ajem.2007.09.012 PMID 18534303
- "Impact of Non-native Animals and Plants on Human Health". Impact of Biological Invasions on Ecosystem Services. Springer. pp. 277–293. Doi:10.1007/978-3-319-45121-3 18 ISBN 978-3-319-45119-0
- ^ a b "Gen. Latrodectus Walckenaer, 1805". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2016-01-28.
- ^ Levi, Herbert W. (1959). "The Spider Genus Latrodectus (Araneae, Theridiidae)". Transactions of the American Microscopical Society. 78 (1): 7–43. doi:10.2307/3223799. JSTOR 3223799.