Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found this thing in my snake room today.I have never seen anything like it before around here.
It has the shape like a widow but is light brown almost gold??

anyways,I know this is way off topic but it is halloween.

later shannon

Shannon, Looks a little like Latrodectus Geometricus or a direct member of the family.

The Brown Widow carries neurotoxin venom not as strong as its upper class mate the Black Widow.

Dann

Shannon,if it has a red hour glass on its under side it is a brown widow,I have tons of black and brown widows here in Florida,be careful they are very venomous,Terry M

Nothing on the belley?

shannon

Well, it's definitely not a brown recluse. When the spider was found, was it hanging upside down? Widows are very rarely ever off the ground and will almost always be found hanging. Even a brown widow "should" have an hourglass marking though. Also widows have very distinct long legs in the front for wrapping up prey. In the pic that you have, they are pretty long but not really sure that they are long enough.

Later
Scott

it doesn't have any marks on the belley and it was under my trash can in my snake room?

shannon

It looks like a brown reclouse spider which is related to the black widow. They (widow spiders) were covered in a issue of reptiles this summer check some back issues this.

The Brown recluse is not native to California (which i believe is where Shannon is) so unless it's an import, rules the Brown recluse.

Also, its kind of hard to see the back from the angle but it does not appear to have the distinctive "fiddle-back" design which would identify it as a brown recluse. Also the abdomen on this spider appears very rounded. while the recluses I've seen all have sort of oval abdomens.

Spiders generally have 8 eyes but the Brown recluse only has six. Not sure if 6 eyes conclusively means brown recluse or just recluse family, but gets you closer. You would probably need a dissecting scope or atleast a good magnifying glass to see that.

I agree that it could be a Latrodectus Geometricus (brown widow), they have been introduced in alot of areas by ship. maybe not as dangerous as the black widow?? but I wouldn't let it bite you just the same. Does it have the hourglass on the underside of the abdomen? Neat spider.

Yes,I am in eastern Calif It doesn't have anything on the bottom of its stumach.looks the same as the top?very round and I know its not a brown recluse.
probably a brown widow?

shannon

>>Yes,I am in eastern Calif It doesn't have anything on the bottom of its stumach.looks the same as the top?very round and I know its not a brown recluse.
>>probably a brown widow?
>>
>>shannon

It's most certainly not a brown recluse and yes brown recluses can be found in CA...there are something like 16 species of recluses that can be found within the US (2 or 3 which are introduced mediterranean species not native species).

It looks like a combfooted species (of which widows are included), but I honestly don't think it's a brown as brown widows that I've seen tend to be dark gray/light gray/brown patterned as adults (kinda like military camo if you got imagination). It could be an overly pale western widow (westerns most common for CA) as sometimes widow abdomens can become color distorted from having fed too much too recently so the abdomen is distended beyond normal, but you say it doesn't have an hourglass so that throws a kink into the equation. It's possible it could be some odd european widow species that hitchiked it's way to the US in some box or something.

I highly suggest you try asking Spider Bob (Dr. Robert Breene) over at the American Tarantula Society what his thoughts on the ID are. He's a well known arachnologist out of Carlsbad, NM. www.atshq.org
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PHWyvern

You've seen the Brown recluse in California?? Highly doubt it, but you never know. If so, please contact the Entomology department at the University of California so the Scientific literature can be updated.

http://spiders.ucr.edu/myth.html

If you have seen a Brown recluse in California it must be a stow-away since this is way out of their range or perhaps a misidentification of another recluse species.

Shannon, if you still have the spider they will ID it for you. By photo if necessary. By the way, the albino and the hypo I got from you at Daytona are doing great.

help I.D. it.
I have lived here all my life and I have never seen one like this and I thought I had seen them all?

shannon

You can send it to Dr. Vetter, his info is at this url. Let us know what he says.

http://spiders.ucr.edu/challenge.html

Thanks,I sent him a letter and a picture?I will let you guys know,Thanks for the info.

I am glad you liked the snakes also,

shannon