White-tailed spiders are
spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
s native to southern and eastern Australia, and so named because of the whitish tips at the end of their
abdomen
The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...
s. The body size is up to 18 mm, with a leg-span of 28 mm. Common species are ''Lampona cylindrata'' and ''Lampona murina''. Both these species have been
introduced into New Zealand.
White-tailed spiders are vagrant hunters that seek out and envenom prey rather than spinning a web to capture it; their preferred prey is other spiders.
They are reported to bite humans, with effects including a red mark, and local itchiness, swelling and pain. On rare occasions, bites can cause
nausea
Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. While not painful, it can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the ...
,
vomiting
Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the Human nose, nose.
Vomiting can be the result of ailments like Food-poisoning, foo ...
,
malaise
As a medical term, malaise is a feeling of general discomfort, uneasiness or lack of wellbeing and often the first sign of an infection or other disease. The word has existed in French since at least the 12th century.
The term is often used ...
or
headache
Headache is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches.
Headaches can occur as a result ...
. Although
ulcers
An ulcer is a discontinuity or break in a bodily membrane that impedes normal function of the affected organ. According to Robbins's pathology, "ulcer is the breach of the continuity of skin, epithelium or mucous membrane caused by sloughing o ...
and
necrosis
Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, or trauma which result in the unregulated dige ...
have been attributed to the bites, a scientific study by Isbister and Gray (2003) showed they had other causes, mostly infections. A study of 130 white-tailed spider bites found no necrotic ulcers or confirmed infections.
Taxonomy
Ludwig Carl Christian Koch
Ludwig Carl Christian Koch (8 November 1825 – 1 November 1908) was a German entomologist and arachnologist.
He was born in Regensburg, Germany, and died in Nuremberg, Germany. He studied in Nuremberg, initially law, but then turned to medic ...
described ''Lampona cylindrata'' in 1866 and ''Lampona murina'' in 1873. The genus name comes from the Latin ''lampo'' ("to shine"). The species name ''cylindrata'' refers to the
cylindric body shape, while ''murinus'' means "mouse-gray" in Latin.
Description
![Lampona Cylindrata](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Lampona_Cylindrata.JPG)
The two common species of white-tailed spiders are ''Lampona cylindrata'' and ''Lampona murina''. They are similar in appearance; ''L. cylindrata'' is slightly larger with females being up to 18 mm long while males are up to 12 mm in body length.
The legs span approximately 28 mm. The two species are not easily distinguished without microscopic examination. They are slender spiders with dark reddish to grey, cigar-shaped body and dark orange-brown banded legs. The grey abdomen has two pairs of faint white spots and—usually but not always—a distinct white spot at the tip just above the spinnerets.
The similarities have led people to think there is only one species of white-tailed spider. It is possible that not all white-tailed species have been identified. The descriptor, ''white tail'', is applied to a variety of species of spiders for which a distal white mark on their abdomen is a distinctive feature; other markings disappear with moultings but the white tail remains to adulthood.
''L. cylindrata'' lay pinkish eggs which are enclosed in a flattened silk capsule and are guarded by the female until they hatch.
Distribution
Both species are native to Australia. ''Lampona cylindrata'' is present across south-east Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia while ''Lampona murina'' is found in eastern Australia from north-east Queensland to Victoria.
The spiders have been introduced in New Zealand with ''Lampona murina'' residing in the North Island for over a hundred years while ''Lampona cylindrata'' has become widespread throughout the South Island since 1980.
Habitat and behaviour
They live in gardens and inside houses, beneath bark and rocks, in leaf litter and are often found in the folds of clothes, towels and shoes.
They do not build webs. Most active at night, they hunt for other spiders. Their favoured prey is the
black house spider
The black house spider or common black spider (''Badumna insignis'') is a common species of cribellate Australian spider, introduced to New Zealand and Japan. A closely related species, ''Badumna longinqua'', the grey house spider, has a similar ...
(''Badumna insignis'') and the closely related brown house spider (''Badumna longinqua''), both of which, like the whitetail, are native to Australia but have been inadvertently introduced to New Zealand.
Bites to humans
A common perception is that white-tailed spider bites can be associated with long term skin infections, and in rarer cases progression to necrosis. This is an attribution of infections presenting to medical care with a complaint of "spider bite." Venom has no bacteria, and infections do not arise from spider bites. The well-described
brown recluse bite causes direct damage to skin and tissue. It has a limited area and does not spread. No formal studies have found evidence for associating necrosis with White-tailed spider bites.
White-tailed spider bites may cause a small red or discolored bump, similar to an insect bite, that burns or itches.
The issue of necrosis in some bite cases in published studies begins with a paper presented at the
International Society on Toxinology International Society on Toxinology (IST) is a global society of scientists and clinicians working for the advancement of venoms, poisons and toxins. It was founded in 1962 with an aim to advance knowledge on venoms, poisons and toxins of animal, p ...
World Congress held in Brisbane in 1982. Both the White-tailed spider and the
wolf spider
Wolf spiders are members of the family Lycosidae (). They are robust and agile hunters with excellent eyesight. They live mostly in solitude, hunt alone, and do not spin webs. Some are opportunistic hunters, pouncing upon prey as they find it or ...
were considered as candidates for ''possibly'' causing ''suspected'' spider bite
necrosis
Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, or trauma which result in the unregulated dige ...
in Australia. In Brazil the
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 ...
was identified as linked to necrosis.
Following this initial report, numerous other cases implicated white-tailed spiders in causing necrotic ulcers.
All of these cases lacked a positively identified spider — or even a spider bite in some cases. Additionally, there had not been a case of arachnogenic necrosis reported in the two hundred years of European
colonisation
Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...
before these cases. Of the 130 cases of White-tailed spider bites studied by Isbister and Gray, more than 60% reported that the person had been bitten by spiders that had got into clothing, towels or beds.
Clinical toxicologist Geoffrey Isbister studied 130 cases of
arachnologist
Arachnology is the scientific study of arachnids, which comprise spiders and related invertebrates such as scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and harvestmen. Those who study spiders and other arachnids are arachnologists. More narrowly, the study of sp ...
-identified white-tailed spider bites, and found no necrosis or confirmed infections, concluding that such outcomes are very unlikely for a white-tailed spider bite. The major effects from a bite in this study were local (pain, a red mark, local swelling and itchiness); and rarely systemic (
nausea
Nausea is a diffuse sensation of unease and discomfort, sometimes perceived as an urge to vomit. While not painful, it can be a debilitating symptom if prolonged and has been described as placing discomfort on the chest, abdomen, or back of the ...
,
vomiting
Vomiting (also known as emesis and throwing up) is the involuntary, forceful expulsion of the contents of one's stomach through the mouth and sometimes the Human nose, nose.
Vomiting can be the result of ailments like Food-poisoning, foo ...
,
malaise
As a medical term, malaise is a feeling of general discomfort, uneasiness or lack of wellbeing and often the first sign of an infection or other disease. The word has existed in French since at least the 12th century.
The term is often used ...
or headache).
All these symptoms are generally mild and resolve over time.
References
Further reading
*
External links
White-tailed spidersat the
Australian Museum
The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...
White-tailed spidersat
Landcare Research Landcare may refer to:
* Australian Landcare Council, a now superseded Australian government body
* Landcare in Australia, umbrella approach promoting land protection in Australia
* Landcare Research, New Zealand
*The Landcare movement in Australi ...
, New Zealand
{{DEFAULTSORT:White-Tailed Spider
Lamponidae
Spiders of Australia
Spiders of New Zealand
Taxa named by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch
Arthropod common names