Latrodectus

Western black widow Latrodectus hesperus, copyright Marshal Hedin.

Belongs within: Theridiidae.

Latrodectus, the widow spiders, is a cosmopolitan genus of cob web spiders including a number of species of medical interest due to their toxic bites. Members of the genus are characterised by widely separated lateral eyes, a large colulus, and the absence of cheliceral teeth (Garb et al. 2004).

<==Latrodectus Walckenaer 1805 [Latrodectinae] PVD10
    |--+--L. geometricus Koch 1841 GGG04
    |  `--L. rhodesiensis Mackay 1972 GGG04
    `--+--L. renivulvatus Dahl 1902 GGG04
       |--L. tredecimguttatus (Rossi 1790) GGG04 [incl. L. tredecimguttatus var. lugubris C01, L. schuchii GGG04]
       `--+--+--L. hasselti Thorell 1870 GGG04 [inl. L. scelio Thorell 1870 S99]
          |  |    |--L. h. hasselti T72
          |  |    `--L. h. indicus Simon 1897 T72
          |  `--L. katipo Powell 1870 GGG04 (see below for synonymy)
          `--+--L. menavodi (Vinson 1863) GGG04
             `--+--+--L. pallidus Cambridge 1872 GGG04
                |  `--L. revivensis Shulov 1948 GGG04
                `--+--+--+--L. bishopi (Kaston 1938) GGG04
                   |  |  `--L. variolus (Walckenaer 1837) GGG04
                   |  `--+--L. hesperus Chamberlin & Ivie 1935 GGG04
                   |     `--L. mactans (Fabricius 1775) GGG04
                   `--+--L. mirabilis (Holmberg 1876) GGG04
                      |--L. variegatus Nicolet 1849 GGG04
                      `--+--L. corallinus Abalos 1980 GGG04
                         `--L. diaguita Carcavallo 1960 GGG04

Latrodectus incertae sedis:
  L. antheratus (Badcock 1932) GGG04
  L. apicalis (Butler 1877) GGG04
  L. atritus Urquhart 1890 GGG04, NS00 [=L. katipo var. atritus NS00]
  L. cinctus (Blackwall 1865) GGG04
  L. curacaviensis (Müller 1776) GGG04
  L. dahli (Levi 1959) GGG04
  L. erythromelas (Schmidt & Klaas 1991) GGG04
  L. hystrix (Simon 1890) GGG04
  L. indistinctus (Cambridge 1904) GGG04
  L. karrooensis (Smithers 1944) GGG04
  L. lilianae Melic 2000 GGG04
  L. obscurior (Dahl 1902) GGG04
  L. ornatus Lucas 1846 E12
  L. quartus Abalos 1980 GGG04
  L. spinipes Lucas 1846 E12

Latrodectus katipo Powell 1870 GGG04 [incl. Theridium melanozantha Urquhart 1887 NS00, T. zebrinia Urquhart 1890 NS00]

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[C01] Csiki, E. 1901. Utivázlat [Reiseskizze]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. xii–xli. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[E12] Evenhuis, N. L. 2012. Publication and dating of the Exploration Scientifique de l'Algérie: Histoire Naturelle des Animaux Articulés (1846–1849) by Pierre Hippolyte Lucas. Zootaxa 3448: 1–61.

[GGG04] Garb, J. E., A. González & R. G. Gillespie. 2004. The black widow spider genus Latrodectus (Araneae: Theridiidae): phylogeny, biogeography, and invasion history. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31: 1127–1142.

[NS00] Nicholls, D. C., P. J. Sirvid, S. D. Pollard & M. Walker. 2000. A list of arachnid primary types held in Canterbury Museum. Records of the Canterbury Museum 14: 37–48.

[PVD10] Paquin, P., C. J. Vink & N. Dupérré. 2010. Spiders of New Zealand: annotated family key and species list. Manaaki Whenua Press: Lincoln (New Zealand).

[S99] Simon, E. 1899. Ergebnisse einer Reise nach dem Pacific (Schauinsland 1896–1897. Zoologische Jahrbücher, Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie un Biologie der Thiere 12 (4): 411–437.

[T72] Tikader, B. K. 1972. Spider fauna of India: catalogue and bibliography. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 69 (1): 91–101.