[DeathMan]

What type of spider is this? I doubt it is dangerous, but just wanted to show off what I found in my bathroom this evening.

The large is just detail, the small one is the real size, and the container is the inside of one of those milk cups you get your kids when you go to Famous Dave's.

[The Godfather]

Cute how you got them both in the same pose.... oh wait. Nice Photoshop :thumbup:

Maybe it is a cousin of that venomous centipede that crawls around this forum lately.

[RAILhead]

Hard to tell.

Is it hairy/furry (it doesn't seem to be)?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it's only about the size of a dime?

The leg joints make it look like a young Huntsman, which are common in Florida, but it could easily be a young Wolf spider of some fashion.

Maury

[Y3a]

Looks like it is a ground hunter by the legs. Does not have the full spinnerette apparatus at the backlike web spinners use. ALL spiders are venomous BTW.

[Fred_Cokebottle]

It doesnt look like this



Hence, it is not a tarantula.

NB: If only the 80 people who have already viewed this thread just did what I did we would be that much closer to the answer.

[SirCastor]

It is also not a male Latrodectus mactans, or black widow.


EDIT: holy cow... maybe it is. I was just making a little joke, but It does actually kind of look like that.

[lurkalot]

So maybe a male of Steatoda grossa then? House spider, sometimes called the false black widow.

Link

[Scifience]

Originally Posted by SirCastor

It is also not a male Latrodectus mactans, or black widow.


EDIT: holy cow... maybe it is. I was just making a little joke, but It does actually kind of look like that.

Wow! It does look like one! Run far away!!

[villalobos]

Originally Posted by Scifience

Wow! It does look like one! Run far away!!

If it's a male he's fine. It is not a female black widow though.

[ogun]

Originally Posted by DeathMan

What type of spider is this? I doubt it is dangerous, but just wanted to show off what I found in my bathroom this evening.

The large is just detail, the small one is the real size, and the container is the inside of one of those milk cups you get your kids when you go to Famous Dave's.

That appears to be a Brown Recluse Spider. Do not touch. <http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2061.html>
<http://images.google.com/images?q=recluse+spider&hl=en&hs=gUX&lr=&client=fi refox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N&tab=ii&oi=imagest>

[ogun]

Originally Posted by villalobos

If it's a male he's fine. It is not a female black widow though.

It's a recluse. That's worse than a widow. If they bite you, you rot. Slowly.

[SirCastor]

I Don't think it's a recluse. There are a lot of pictures Google's pulling up which suggest the recluse is more... brown, and hairy.
Much confusion this is.

[RAILhead]

It's NOT a brown recluse.

[teknopimp]

definitely NOT a brown recluse. guess again.

[ogun]

Looked like a recluse. Okay, got no idea what it is. The OP's geographical location might assist in identifying it.

[RAILhead]

Brown Recluse spiders have a violin pattern on the cephalothorax as well as 6-paired eye sets. Like you see in this most excellent Brown Recluse Identifying Picture I whipped-up:

[villalobos]

Originally Posted by RAILhead

Brown Recluse spiders have a violin pattern on the cephalothorax as well as 6-paired eye sets. Like you see in this most excellent Brown Recluse Identifying Picture I whipped-up:

Thanks for that picture. I never figured where the violin shape similarity was. Now I see it.

[DeathMan]

I'm in southern utah 120 miles north of Las Vegas. It was a little bigger than a dime. Maybe like a nickel. We flushed him pretty quick, but I'd say about like a nickel.

[JoshuaZ]

Originally Posted by The Godfather

Cute how you got them both in the same pose.... oh wait. Nice Photoshop :thumbup:

Maybe it is a cousin of that venomous centipede that crawls around this forum lately.

Dude, don`t even joke about those. Seriously. They mess you up good.

[lurkalot]

While we wait for a positive identification of the unfortunate deceased spider posthumously immortalized in the opening post may I perhaps offer this page for some informative and entertaining reading about Spider myths?

[JustAnOl'Broad]

Originally Posted by Fred_Cokebottle

It doesnt look like this

And it doesn't look like this


Hencemore, it is not a daddy longlegs.


But my lizard (2") is hungry so send it on.

[TailsToo]

His name is Fred, and he wanted some of your ice cream.

[Mark Larr]

It's not a recluse, but all spiders are venomous.

Either a hemotoxin (recluse) or a neuro toxin (black widow).

I WAS bitten by a brown recluse this summer and spent a week in the hospital with my skin rotting off my arm.


Back in April I was bitten by a wolf spider considered to be non-harmful and I can tell you that they are far from harmless. My finger swole up like golf ball for a month.

[lurkalot]

Yesterday I used the feedback feature available at two arachnology websites to ask for identification of the spider shown in the opening post.

I provided the photo-link plus some of the information you posted about size and location etc. (Approx. 17.91 - 21.21 mm. Southern Utah. Indoor.) besides making some comments on the speculation and suggestions in this thread.

Below are the replies I received and the links for the blank feedback pages I used to pose my questions.

Dr. Jerome Rovner (Arachnologist, formerly Professor at Ohio university (Retired)) wrote:
"It looks like a male spider of the family Theridiidae.  However, I regret to say that the image quality does not permit me to say which species it is.  I agree with you that it may be a member of the genus Steatoda.  (As you've recognized, it is neither a black widow nor a brown recluse)."
http://www.americanarachnology.org/AAS_Info_Form.html

Rod Crawford (Curatorial Associate of Arachnids at the Burke Museum in Seattle) made the following comments:
"Your guess is actually the same as mine. It does look like a male
Steatoda, probably one of the household "false black widow" species
S.grossa or S.triangulosa. But it's not possible to be sure of this
from the photo. It is certainly a male of something and from the state
of the abdomen (even in the smaller photo), badly dehydrated. Which is
what he was doing in the bathtub* - looking for water. Instead he
found, apparently, murderous prejudice...

Real black widows are common in southern Utah so anyone who lives
there should have been smart enough to realize that this couldn't be
that. There are no recluse spiders in Utah, and besides, if the
blow-up photo is accurate you can see he has 8 eyes in the normal
arrangement: see my pages
http://www.burkemuseum.org/spidermyt...iddleback.html
http://www.burkemuseum.org/spidermyt...wnrecluse.html

The other medically important spider species of Utah (besides the
western black widow) is the hobo spider. That is not presently known
south of about the midpoint of the state. So depending on how far
south in southern Utah the person is, he probably doesn't have to
worry about any spiders but black widows - and even they really aren't
much of a worry! No human of any age has died from a widow spider bite
in the USA since the 1960s. So consider the real and widespread danger
of wasps, dogs, humans, and then wonder why anyone ever troubles to
worry about a mere spider!"
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseu.../feedback.html

*A bathtub is mentioned in the reply because I made a mistake in my question. I wrote bathtub instead of bathroom as the place where you found the spider.

So perhaps that is as close as we'll get to positively naming this unfortunate arachnid foolish enough to reveal his presence to you.

Why did you flush the spider, Deathman? Fear? Disgust? ... ?

[Mark Larr]

After my bout with the brown recluse bite and the wolf spider bite just months before combined with the ongoing residual effects (inflamed lymph nodes).

All spiders die now. I'm no longer taking ANY chances.

[CMYKid]

Originally Posted by lurkalot

Instead he found, apparently, murderous prejudice...

heh, thats exactly what my Entomology mentors and professors would have said. then again, they were a bit TOO into tha bugs...

and if you're a serious wuss you can spend 50 bucks for a special dustbuster...

[Mark Larr]

I sent a reply to the guy who felt flushing something too disgusting to be allowed to live was equivilant to murder.

He evidently ain't been envenomated yet.

[DeathMan]

I flushed the spider because I didn't know what type it was. I've heard stories of hobo spiders around. Though I am in the very southwest corner of the state, so maybe I shouldn't worry about it. I thought it might be a hobo, and didn't want it lurking around. I was mostly sure it wasn't a recluse.

It wasn't fear or disgust. More distrust, I suppose, and ignorance. And rather than take the time to figure out exactly what it was, I just disposed of it. Normally I don't kill spiders, my wife can attest to that, but when I don't know what they are, they don't usually get to live. I'm a murder that way I guess. I am DeathMan after all.

[lurkalot]

Deathman,
You managed to put the spider in a cup and photograph it without losing your life or without being harmed in any way. The spider could have stayed in the cup with a punctured lid or piece of cloth cover held in place by a rubber band until you found out what it was, or what it wasn't.
It took less than 3 days to figure out that it wasn't a medically significant species. It in fact turned out to be a spider that could be beneficial to have around the house, because of his diet.
Anyway now you know what types of spiders you may reasonably expect to find in your house in your part of the world. Perhaps the next spider looking for a sip of water won't find more than he was hoping for in a toilet bowl.
Some will say its just a spider but I don't see a reason to kill things unnecessarily. Not spiders, nor centipedes etc. It is good to hear that it is not your habit to kill spiders randomly.

Mark Larr,
You are right, I've never been envenomated by a spider but I still think your reaction is irrational and overkill. I also know with reasonable certainty that the experience of a spider bite would not change my mind based on my experience with other animals. Not that my opinion will likely change your mind but I think there are better ways to reduce the risk of getting injured besides killing every spider you encounter.

If you sent your reply to Rod Crawford I doubt you'll find agreement with your spider killing policy from him. He's been bitten only twice in a lifetime of studying spiders and doubt that an additional bite would persuade him to embrace your method of ineffective bite prevention.

Since you might have implied that I had insufficient experience to render an opinion opposite of yours allow me to tell a little bit about myself.

I'm a diving instructor. I've stepped on a sea urchin in shallow water and had my entire foot swell up as a result. I don't have a desire to wipe out all sea urchins that come within my sight as a result. I wear thicker soled booties on shore dives and prefer -boat- dives that don't require wading out, partially for that reason.

I've swam into the unseen tentacles of a jellyfish on my way back up to the surface. Turned out to be a man of war. The stings put red streaks on my arms and face that made me look like I had been whipped by a crazy s&m matron. Hurt like a bitch too. I don't go around killing jellyfish. Stopped wearing shorties and check my sleeves before turning the suit inside-out when pulling my arms out if I get stung on my hands but I'm under no illusion that I'll never be stung by a jellyfish again.

I've grabbed permanent mooring lines without paying enough attention. A handfull of hydroids for reward more than once and once the spiney hairs of a bristle worm stuck in my palms. Not much fun.

I've lived in places for my job where the inhabitants of my house could also have injured me. I've evicted scorpions from my shoes and clothes, without killing them. Encouraged snakes to find a different domicile. Never got stung or bitten by either but I guess to me the minute risk of getting stung outweighs the "need" to kill whatever could potentially harm me. I know there are people who kill a rattlesnake no matter how or where they encounter one. I don't see the benefit of such behavior. On the contrary I find it unnecessarily destructive and advocate for the preservation of all these critters and their habitats. My presence is not without impact but I don't go around intentionally causing more damage than necessary either. As a small part of my job I teach people what to look out for and how to reduce harm to them and the ecosystem they inhabit or choose to enter for hobby and work.

So, although I've never personally been envenomated by a brown recluse or wolf spider I'm not exactly inexperienced or ignorant of the potential risk of wildlife either. I sincerely doubt that being bitten by one of those spiders you say bit you would change my mind about killing all spiders anymore than jellyfish stings changed my mind about killing jellyfish. Not even the ones that can do harm to people.

I also know from experience that there is a lot of irrational fear based on lack of awareness, preparation and education. I don't hug poison trees but I don't clear cut rain forests to avoid them either.

Do you propose we kill all members in the family of the scorpion fish, all cone shells, rays etc because there are some venomous aquatic critters down there belonging to these families potentially dangerous to humans?
Wipe out all snakes, centipedes and spiders etc because someone got stung? This planet would be a "pretty" barren place if we did that.

How did you get bitten twice in such a short time anyway? How did you positively identify what caused your injuries?

Not sure if I got the tone of this message right but it is not meant to be inflammatory. I just disagree with your approach. I think you are exaggerating the risk and doing more damage than necessary by killing all spiders you encounter. "Too disgusting to be allowed to live"? What a sad way to describe a -harmless- spider.

[Mark Larr]

Oh please.
I've been stung by jellyfish while diving because I swam into them, I wasn't asleep.
The jellyfish sting didn't cost me eight grand and a week in the hospital with a gaping hole in my arm.

I've been bitten by a toadfish and it broke my thumb. I don't go on an eradication of toadfish.

I've been pinched by countless scallops and merely laugh it off.

I get parrot bites so much that there are places where I don't feel it anymore when chomped by a frightened, abused bird.

I didn't EVER say eradicate all spiders. Just the ones that just happen to wander into my space as I have been harmed by even one considered "harmless". Just because a book says there are no reported incidents of envenomation doesn't mean it's harmless.

If it has more than 8 legs, it's venomous.


How did I identify them?

I bagged them both.
First time was in a rental airplane and the Wolf Spider was in the freaking trim wheel well. I reached to up trim for landing and it got my finger. I guess I crushed it enough to injure it mortally because it was on the floor of the plane, so I put it in the puke bag.
My finger swole up like a puss filled golf ball.
The spider wasn't hard to ID because of its' unique markings and they are extremely common here.

Second time the Brown Recluse bite.
I was asleep when I guess I rolled over on it and all I felt was severe itching like a mosquito bite on steroids.
I found the spider in the bed and bagged it in a zip lock and immediately went to the doctor.
He sent me to a hemotologist/surgeon who microscoped it.
I spent a freaking week in the hospital in severe pain and endured 2 surgeries to remove the rotting skin.

[bells0]

Glad i live in the safeness that is the UK, thats all i can say.

Mr Larr - u sound like an unlucky chap, or maybe animals just dont like the smell of ya!

[vexborg]

Originally Posted by bells0

Glad i live in the safeness that is the UK, thats all i can say.

Mr Larr - u sound like an unlucky chap, or maybe animals just dont like the smell of ya!

Yeah, I guess we're pretty safe - over here we only get eaten by Midges