White-tailed spider
| White-tailed spiders | |
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| Adult | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Lamponidae |
| Genus: | Lampona |
| Informal group: | White-tailed spiders |
| Species | |
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White-tailed spiders are spiders native to southern and eastern Australia, and so named because of the whitish tips at the end of their abdomens. 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.[1]
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, ulcers and pain. On rare occasions, bites can cause nausea, vomiting, malaise or headache. Although ulcers and necrosis have been attributed to the bites.
Treatment is required with strong penicillin tabs, steroidal cream for wounds. Keep area clean with Saline washes and after cream applied cover wounds with Island patches. There is anti venom which proves to be quite weak. Have your dressings checked apply betadine every 2 days and keep them dry always. The venom spreads and causes further damage unless attended to fast. They hide on washing lines so check clothing before wearing.
Taxonomy
Ludwig Carl Christian Koch 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.[2][3]
Description
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.[4][3] The legs span approximately 28 mm.[5] 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.[3][6]
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.[7]
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.[3] 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.[6]
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.[1] They do not build webs. Most active at night, they hunt for other spiders. Their favoured prey is the black house spider[8] (Badumna insignis) and the closely related brown house spider (Badumna longinqua),[9] both of which, like the whitetail, are native to Australia but have been inadvertently introduced to New Zealand.
Bites to humans
{{more llll 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 does contain bacteria,infections do arise from white tail spider bites. The well-described brown recluse bite causes direct damage to skin and tissue. It does not have limited area. The venom does spread. It will break open skin and more sores will appear.
White-tailed spider bites may cause a discoloured bump, similar to an insect bite, that burns or itches. Skin will become thickened and inflamed.
The issue of necrosis in some bite cases in published studies begins with a paper presented at the International Society on Toxinology World Congress held in Brisbane in 1982. Both the White-tailed spider and the wolf spider were considered as candidates for possibly causing suspected spider bite necrosis in Australia. In Brazil the recluse spider was identified as linked to necrosis.
Following this initial report, numerous other cases implicated white-tailed spiders in causing necrotic ulcers.[10][11][12]<ref>{{cite journal |author=Chan SW |title=Recurrent necrotising arachnidism |journal=Medical .Additionally, there had not been a case of arachnogenic necrosis reported in Of the 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-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, vomiting, malaise or headaches.
References
- ^ a b Slaughter RJ, Beasley DM, Lambie BS, Schep LJ (2009). "New Zealand's venomous creatures". N. Z. Med. J. 122 (1290): 83–97. PMID 19319171.
- ^ Gray, Mike. "Lampona cylindrata (Family Lamponidae) White-tailed Spider". Australian Government: The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Retrieved 14 June 2008.
- ^ a b c d "White-tailed spiders". Australian Museum. 2003. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
- ^ Platnick NI (2000). "A relimitation and revision of the Australasian ground spider family Lamponidae (Araneae: Gnaphosoidea)". Bull Am Mus Nat Hist. 245: 1–328. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.694.2875. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2000)245<0001:ARAROT>2.0.CO;2.
- ^ "Spiders in New Zealand". New Zealand National Poison Centre. 2008. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
- ^ a b "White-tailed spiders (Lampona cylindrata and Lampona murina)". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
- ^ "White tailed spider: Lampona cylindrata". Museum Victoria. Archived from the original on 1 August 2008. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
- ^ Forster, Ray; Forster, Lyn (1999). Spiders of New Zealand and Their Worldwide Kin. Dunedin: University Of Otago Press. pp. 111–2. ISBN 978-1-877133-79-4.
- ^ "T.E.R:R.A.I.N - Taranaki Educational Resource: Research, Analysis and Information Network - House spider (Grey) Badumna longinqua".
- ^ Gray M (July 1989). "A significant illness that was produced by the White-tailed spider, Lampona cylindrata". Medical Journal of Australia. 151 (2): 114–6. PMID 2739605.
- ^ St George I, Forster L (May 1991). "Skin necrosis after white-tailed spider bite?". New Zealand Medical Journal. 104 (912): 207–8. PMID 2052219.
- ^ Skinner MW, Butler CS (April 1995). "Necrotising arachnidism treated with hyperbaric oxygen". Medical Journal of Australia. 162 (7): 372–3. PMID 7715520.
Further reading
- White, Julian (2003). "Debunking spider bite myths". The Medical Journal of Australia. 179 (4): 180–181. ISSN 1326-5377. PMID 12914504.
External links
- White-tailed spiders at the Australian Museum
- White-tailed spiders at Landcare Research, New Zealand