''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, are a genus of spiders that were first described by R. T. Lowe in 1832. They are venomous spiders known for their bite, which sometime ...

of the family

Sicariidae Sicariidae is a family (biology), family of six-eyed spider bite, venomous spiders known for their potentially necrotic bites. The family consists of three genus, genera and about 160 species. Well known spiders in this family include the Loxosce ...

. 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 and

midwestern states The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

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

Distribution

This spider is found in the eastern half of southern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, the southern tip of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, the western half of

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, throughout northern, central, eastern, and southwestern

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, the southwestern corner of

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

and into northwestern Mexico.according to Gertsch, 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

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

ous bite of the desert recluse. This occurs through the same mechanism responsible for the effects of the brown recluse 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