Latrodectus geometricus

Latrodectus geometricus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Theridiidae
Genus: Latrodectus
Species:
L. geometricus
Binomial name
Latrodectus geometricus
Koch, 1841[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Theridium zickzack Karsch, 1878
  • Latrodectus concinnus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1904
  • Chacoca distincta Badcock, 1932

Latrodectus geometricus, commonly known as the brown widow,[2][3] brown button spider, grey widow, brown black widow,[3] 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 (black widow). 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.

Orange hourglass marking on the belly of a brown widow
A brown widow's egg sac
Brown widow spider found in Cairo, Egypt
  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference WSC_s39047 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Vetter CISR 2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Reagan, Mark (12 August 2011). "It's officially confirmed: There's a new spider in southwest Kansas". Dodge City Daily Globe. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2012.