Steatoda capensis

Taxobox
name = Steatoda capensis

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image_width = 250px
image_caption = Female "Steatoda capensis"
status =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Arachnida
ordo = Araneae
familia = Theridiidae
genus = "Steatoda"
species = "S. capensis"
binomial = "Steatoda capensis"
binomial_authority = Hann, 1990

Steatoda capensis is a spider originating from South Africa. Its common names include the "black cobweb spider", "brown house spider", "cupboard spider" and due to its similarities to the katipo spider it is commonly known as the "false katipo" in New Zealand. [cite web | title =Field identification of katipo (DOC Research & Development Series 237) | author= Sutton ME, Christensen B, Hutcheson JA |publisher = Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand | date = April 2006 | url =http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/science-and-technical/drds237.pdf| format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-12] Common throughout Southern Africa,cite journal | author = Hann SW | title = Descriptions of four Steatoda species (Araneae, Theridiidae) found in New Zealand | journal = New Zealand Journal of Zoology | volume = 21 | issue = | pages = 225-38 | year = 1994 |pmid = | doi =| url = http://www.rsnz.org/publish/nzjz/1994/18.php] it has been introduced into other countries and is now present in Australia and throughout New Zealand. [cite web | title =False katipo spider | author= |publisher = Biosecurity New Zealand | date = | url =http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/pest-and-disease-response/pests-and-diseases-watchlist/false-katipo-spider| format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-12] 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 cresent shaped band near the front of the abdomen.cite book | last = Forster | first = Ray | coauthors = Forster, Lyn | authorlink = | title = Spiders Of New Zealand And Their Worlwide Kin | publisher = University Of Otago Press | location = Dunedin | date = 1999 | pages = 180 | doi = | isbn = 1-877133-79-5]

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. [cite journal |author=Isbister GK, Gray MR |title=Effects of envenoming by comb-footed spiders of the genera Steatoda and Achaearanea (family Theridiidae: Araneae) in Australia |journal=J. Toxicol. Clin. Toxicol. |volume=41 |issue=6 |pages=809–19 |year=2003 |pmid=14677791 |doi= |url=] Bites can be quite painful and can cause a general malaise for about a day. [cite web | title =Black cobweb or false katipo spider (Steatoda capensis) | author= |publisher = Te Papa, New Zealand | date = | url =http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/TePapa/English/CollectionsAndResearch/CollectionAreas/NaturalEnvironment/InsectsSpidersAndSimilar/SpidersWeb/What/falsekatipo.htm| format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-06-12]

Footnotes

External links

[http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/TePapa/English/CollectionsAndResearch/CollectionAreas/NaturalEnvironment/InsectsSpidersAndSimilar/SpidersWeb/What/falsekatipo.htm Te Papa fact sheet]