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First report of brown widow spider sightings in Peninsular Malaysia and notes on its global distribution

Muslimin M 1 , Wilson JJ 2 , Ghazali AR 1 , Braima KA 1 , Jeffery J 1 , Wan-Nor F 3 Show all authors , Alaa-Eldin ME 4 , Mohd-Zin SW 1 , Wan-Yusoff WS 1 , Norma-Rashid Y 5 , Lau YL 1 , Rohela M 1 , Abdul-Aziz NM 1

Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 2 Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ; Museum of Zoology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 3 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor Malaysia
  • 4 Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 5 Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis, 2015;21:11.
PMID: 25995738 DOI: 10.1186/s40409-015-0010-2

Abstract

The brown widow spider (Latrodectus geometricus Koch, 1841) has colonised many parts of the world from its continent of origin, Africa. By at least 1841, the species had successfully established populations in South America and has more recently expanded its range to the southern states of North America. This highly adaptable spider has been far more successful in finding its niche around the world than its famous cousins, the black widow, Latrodectus mactans, found in the south-eastern states of North America, and the red-back, Latrodectus hasselti, found mostly in Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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