''Loxosceles deserta'', commonly known as the desert recluse, is a

recluse spider The recluse spiders (''Loxosceles'' (), also known as brown spiders, fiddle-backs, violin spiders, and reapers, is a genus of spiders that was first described by R. T. Lowe in 1832. They are venomous spiders known for their bite, which sometimes ...

of the family Sicariidae. It is found in Mexico and the United States. The desert recluse is commonly misidentified as '' L. unicolor'' (of South America) or as '' L. reclusa'' (the brown recluse of the

southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

and midwestern states), two spiders which do not live anywhere near the vicinity.

Distribution

This spider is found in the eastern half of southern California, the southern tip of Nevada, the western half of Arizona, throughout northern, central, eastern, and southwestern New Mexico, the southwestern corner of Utah and into northwestern Mexico.according to

Gertsch Willis John Gertsch (October 4, 1906 – December 12, 1998) was an American arachnologist. He described over 1,000 species of spiders, scorpions, and other arachnids, including the Brown recluse spider and the Tooth cave spider. Gertsch was born ...

, 1973; It dwells in the wild, and its only domestic occurrence is that near native vegetation, avoiding urban areas in the desert and even green lawns. The spiders are particularly dense in

packrat A pack rat or packrat, also called a woodrat or trade rat, are any species in the North and Central American rodent genus ''Neotoma''. Pack rats have a rat-like appearance, with long tails, large ears, and large, black eyes. Pack rats are notice ...

dens.

Venom

Lesions of the skin can be caused by the venomous bite of the desert recluse. This occurs through the same mechanism responsible for the effects of the

brown recluse The brown recluse (''Loxosceles reclusa''), Sicariidae (formerly placed in a family "Loxoscelidae") is a recluse spider with Necrosis, necrotic venom. Similar to those of other recluse spiders, their bites sometimes require medical attention. T ...

bite.

References

Sicariidae Spiders of the United States Spiders of Mexico Fauna of the Mojave Desert Fauna of the Sonoran Desert Fauna of the Great Basin Spiders described in 1973 {{Araneomorphae-stub