Redback
Female, posterior
Ellura
Cupboard Spider
Dorsal
 
                      
Redback (Latrodectus hasseltii)Class: Animals (Animalia) - Jointed Legs (Arthropoda) - Spiders, Scorpions, Mites & Ticks (Arachnida)
Order: Spiders (Araneae)
Family: Comb-footed Spider (Theridiidae)     iNaturalist Observation
Species: Redback (Latrodectus hasseltii)
This Photo:     Female, ventral
Synonym: Latrodectus hasselti

Thank you Anthony Paul for confirming the id of this species for us

General Species Information:
Found on Ellura (in the Murray Mallee, SA), the Adelaide Hills and elsewhere
A poisonous spider that can be lethal, but very, very rarely.
Poisoning usually occurs due to picking up material off the ground without gloves. They love corrugated iron.
They are generally black with a dark red diamond shaped stripe on their abdomen which extends from the top all the way round underneath.
The stripe goes bright red when threatened.
Diagnostically only the red hour glass underneath is relevant. As such, they can be missing the red stripe on top, are often brown not black, and also often have white stripes.
These originated in the North-western Deserts of South Australia. They have become cosmopolitan (ie travel with humans) to other locations outside their native range.

Copyright © 2010-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 11-Apr-2010
This species is classed as Ir (Regionally Introduced)