''Latrodectus umbukwane,'' commonly known as the Phinda button spider, is a species of the spider in the genus ''

Latrodectus ''Latrodectus'' is a broadly distributed genus of spiders with several species that are commonly known as the true widows. This group is composed of those often loosely called black widow spiders, brown widow spiders, and similar spiders. Howeve ...

'' described in 2019, named after the

Phinda Private Game Reserve Phinda Private Game Reserve (), formerly known as Phinda Resource Reserve, is a private game reserve situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, between the Mkuze Game Reserve and the Greater St. Lucia Wetland Park. Designated in 1991, Phinda i ...

where research specimens were collected. , it is known only from critically endangered

sand forest A sand forest is a type of rare subtropical forest region, distinctive due to its unique combination of plant (often rare plant) and animal species, and their restriction to ancient coastal dunes. Sand forests are found in Maputaland in South Afr ...

environments in northern Zululand,

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, South Africa. It is believed to be the largest member of its genus.

Discovery

A single female was first found in 2014 in the

Tembe Elephant Park Tembe Elephant Park is a 30 012 ha game reserve in Maputaland, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is adjacent to Ndumo Game Reserve. The park was developed by Tembe Tribal Authority and Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife. It was established in 1983 to protect ...

. It was observed until its natural death two years later, when it was collected and sent to a laboratory. In 2017 a professional entomologist joined the study and a number of live specimens were collected from the Phinda reserve. They and their offspring were studied until 2019 when it was confirmed to be a new species. The first addition in 28 years to the 31 previously known button, or widow spiders in the genus ''Latrodectus'', of which eight are found in Africa.

Description

Females have red markings on both the ventral and dorsal surfaces of the abdomen, unlike any other African ''Latrodectus'' species. They have parallel

spermatheca The spermatheca (pronounced plural: spermathecae ), also called receptaculum seminis (plural: receptacula seminis), is an organ of the female reproductive tract in insects, e.g. ants, bees, some molluscs, oligochaeta worms and certain other ...

e and the copulatory ducts have three loops. The

embolus An embolus (; plural emboli; from the Greek ἔμβολος "wedge", "plug") is an unattached mass that travels through the bloodstream and is capable of creating blockages. When an embolus occludes a blood vessel, it is called an embolism or emb ...

of males has four loops and there are white markings on the ventral surface of the abdomen that darken with age. The large smooth egg sacs are bright purple when freshly laid, fading to shiny grey as they dry.

Habitat

The species is only known to occur in the critically endangered lowland

biome of northern KwaZulu-Natal. These forests are threatened by illegal clearing for farming as well as wood collection. The females build nests in trees and stumps more than 50 centimetres above ground, which is higher than most other members of the genus.

References

External links

Video clip filmed in early 2019
{{taxonbar, from1=Q76516624 umbukwane Spiders described in 2019 Spiders of South Africa Endemic fauna of South Africa