Theridiidae
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Theridiidae, also known as the tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders and comb-footed spiders, is a large family of araneomorph spiders first described by Carl Jakob Sundevall in 1833. This diverse, globa
Enoplognatha ovata on Daucus carota
Chrysso pulcherrima
Coscinida japonica
Dipoena martinae
Latrodectus
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Latrodectus is a broadly distributed genus of spiders informally called the widow spiders, with several species that are commonly known as the true widows. This group is composed of those often called
Theridiidae
…of serrated bristles (setae) on the tarsus of the fourth leg. The family includes some model organisms for research, including the medically important widow spiders. They are important to studies characterizing their venom and its clinical manifestation, but widow spiders are also used in research on spider silk…
Latrodectus hesperus Berkeley, California
Juvenile southern black widow (Latrodectus mactans)
Ventral side of a L. geometricus displaying the hourglass marking
Dorsal side of a mature male L. hesperus in Colorado, United States