Steatoda capensis is a

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

originating from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Its common names include the ''black cobweb spider'', ''brown house spider'', ''cupboard spider'' and due to its similarities to the

katipō The katipō (''Latrodectus katipo'') is an endangered species of spider native to New Zealand. It is one of many species in the genus ''Latrodectus'', such as the Australian redback (''L. hasseltii''), and the North American black widow. The ...

spider it is commonly known as the ''false katipō'' in New Zealand. Common throughout Southern Africa, it has been introduced into other countries and is now present in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and throughout

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. It is a small spider, usually an all-over shiny black. It may have a small bright red, orange, or yellow patch near the tip of the abdomen along with a crescent shaped band near the front of the abdomen. It is thought that in some instances ''Steatoda capensis'' can bite humans causing a syndrome known as steatodism; which has been described as a less-severe form of

latrodectism Latrodectism () is the illness caused by the bite of ''Latrodectus'' spiders (the black widow spider and related species). Pain, muscle rigidity, vomiting, and sweating are the symptoms of latrodectism. There are several spider species all named ...

. Bites can be quite painful and can cause a general

malaise In medicine, malaise is a feeling of general discomfort, uneasiness or lack of wellbeing and often the first sign of an infection or other disease. It is considered a vague termdescribing the state of simply not feeling well. The word has exist ...

for about a day. __TOC__

Etymology

The species name of "capensis" refers to

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, which is where the spider originates.

Taxonomy

Black Cobweb Spider imported from iNaturalist photo 6903245 on 8 September 2024

''Steatoda capensis'' was first described in 1904 as ''Teutana lepida'' by

Octavius Pickard-Cambridge Octavius Pickard-Cambridge FRS (3 November 1828 – 9 March 1917) was an English clergyman and zoologist. He was a keen arachnologist who described and named more than 900 species of spider from a large collection that he made with contrib ...

from specimens collected in South Africa. In 1977, ''T. lepida'' was moved to the ''

Steatoda The spider genus ''Steatoda'', in the family Theridiidae, includes about 120 recognized species, distributed around the world (including many cosmopolitan species which are found among human populations worldwide). One common name is cupboard spi ...

'' genus since ''Teutana'' had previously been recognized as a synonym of ''Steatoda''. However, in 1990, it was recognized that there was separate species of spider named '' Steatoda lepida'', so the species that was formerly ''T. lepida'' was renamed as ''Steatoda capensis''.Hann, S. W. (1990). A new combination involving ''Lithyphantes lepidus'' Cambridge 1897 and a new name for ''Teutana lepida'' Cambridge 1903 (Araneae, Theridiidae). ''New Zealand Journal of Zoology'' 17: 283. Steatoda capensis 382971804

Distribution and habitat

''Steatoda capensis'' is native to South Africa but is also found in Australia and New Zealand (where it is especially widespread in the latter). The spiders are

synanthropic A synanthrope (from ancient Greek σύν ''sýn'' "together, with" and ἄνθρωπος ''ánthrōpos'' "man") is an organism that evolved to live near humans and benefit from human settlements and their environmental modifications (see also ...

and frequently live on or in buildings. They also occur in a variety of other habitats such as sand dunes.

Ecology

In New Zealand, ''Steatoda capensis'' occurs in sand dunes where the endemic

spider also occurs. The two spiders occupy similar niches to one another, but ''S. capensis'' can reproduce more quickly. Because of this, it is possible that ''S. capensis'' is slowly displacing katipō spiders from their native habitat, which may be a contributing factor in their declining population.

Interactions with humans

Although not severe, ''S. capensis'' produce a painful bite when threatened. Bites are predominately inflicted by females, but males also have the potential to bite. Bites from ''S. capensis'' can cause steatodism, which can be thought of as a less severe form of latrodectism. Effects of the bite typically include localized pain and redness around the bite, but may also include nausea and headaches. Antivenom typically used for '' Latrodectus hasselti'' bites may also be effective on ''S. capensis'' bites.

Footnotes

External links

Black cobweb or false katipō spider
on the website of the

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa ( Māori for ' the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the National Museum of New Zealand ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q141843 capensis Spiders of South Africa Spiders of Australia Spiders of New Zealand Spiders described in 1990