Brown recluse spider

Brown recluse
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Sicariidae
Genus: Loxosceles
Species:
L. reclusa
Binomial name
Loxosceles reclusa
Synonyms[1]
  • Loxosceles reclusus orthographic variant

The brown recluse (Loxosceles reclusa, Sicariidae, formerly placed in a family "Loxoscelidae") 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.

Brown recluse spiders are usually between 6 and 20 millimetres (0.24 and 0.79 in), but may grow larger. While typically light to medium brown, they range in color from whitish to dark brown or blackish gray. The cephalothorax and abdomen are not necessarily the same color. These spiders usually have markings on the dorsal side of their cephalothorax, with a black line coming from it that looks like a violin with the neck of the violin pointing to the rear of the spider, resulting in the nicknames fiddleback spider, brown fiddler, or violin spider.[2]

  1. ^ a b "Taxon details Loxosceles reclusa Gertsch & Mulaik, 1940", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 17 December 2016
  2. ^ "Brown recluse in Newburgh Indiana". Yikespest. Retrieved 5 April 2021.