Hi everyone, the picture shows what it seems to be a black widow, but the species has not been reported to be in Ecuador, so, I have my doubts. If someone could help me with this I will really appreciate it.
Hello Santiago, is it possible to upload the pic to the Facebook Page "Sociedad Andaluza de Entomología"? There are some experts that could help you.
Hi Santiago, it looks like the Australian Redback spider (Latrodectus hasseltii). Where is your specimen from? Is it definitely caught in the wild in Ecuador?
Thanks, Javier... Joachim, it was caught in Quito, near the new airport, in the wild!
It may be possible that this is Latrodectus mactans, this is a widely distributed species (native from North America but introduced elsewhere) which has as well a quite wide variability in coloration pattern. If I recall, L. mactans in Ecuador and northern Peru matches the pattern in the picture you provided.
The species is not L. mactans. The taxonomy of Latrodectus is quite poor. The problems stem in large part from a 1959 global monograph which reduced 22 species down to 6 through mostly erroneous synonymy, mostly with L. mactans. This is largely why L. mactans is included in species lists all over the world. In fact, L. mactans is almost entirely limited to the SE US and Mexico, plus some islands. Another, related challenge with Latrodectus is that the genital morphology is relatively homogeneous compared to other spider groups, while somatic variation within species can be atypically large. So the conventions that typically work in spider taxonomy (concentrating on the anatomy of genitalia) often fail with Latrodectus.
I am part of a group currently working on Latrodectus taxonomy, phylogeny, and behavioral evolution. We would be happy to include some examples of your find in our study if you are wiling to send preserved specimens to us. We will get you a definitive answer as to the identity of this species, but it may not be quick!
Jeramy, When will your work on Latrodectus taxonomy be available to us? I know you have been on this for a long time!
How to get ahead in Latrodectus taxonomy? Nobody ever remembers a late delivery, they only remember a bad one (with apologies to Richard Grant http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097531/). And there have been some tragically memorable deliveries in this field. The good news is I think we are well on our way to making a positive contribution, but I'm not setting any dates just yet.
Nice to hear that action is occurring at the species level in Latrodecttus, Jeremy. Very brave!
It is certainly not the Australian species in which (along with some others) the red stripe is continuous and there are not red spots on the anterior face of the abdomen
I agree with Jeremy. There are apparently several species of Latrodectus in South America, but as Jeremy says the taxonomy is murky, The only thing certain about this specimen is that it is a Latrodectus.
Wikipedia lists 31 species of Latrodectus spiders, more than half of which are limited to the Old World. Of the 14 New World species, 10 are found in South America, mostly in Argentina and Peru. I know very little about spiders, so better ask a specialist, but to my untrained eye, the spider in your photograph looks like an Australia species, Latrodectus hasseltii. If that turns out to be an accurate identification, it would be a good idea to report it to your local health authority.
Jeremy, have you evaluated the work of Abalos et al on Latrodectus in Argentina?