Redback spider: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the redback spider lives – recorded in 4 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Latrodectus hasselti
Group	Spiders, scorpions & other arachnids
Found in	4 countries
Continents	Asia, Oceania
Class	Arachnid
Order	Araneida
Family	Theridiidae

Where does the redback spider live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the redback spider in 4 countries and territories across Asia and Oceania. In Japan it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the redback spider?

The redback spider (Latrodectus hasselti) is an arachnid in the order Araneida and the family Theridiidae, genus Latrodectus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the redback spider

The redback spider (Latrodectus hasselti), also known as the Australian black widow, is a species of highly venomous spider believed to originate in Australia, but which is now found in Southeast Asia, Japan and New Zealand. It has also been found in packing crates in the United States with colonies elsewhere outside Australia. It is a member of the cosmopolitan genus Latrodectus, the widow spiders. The adult female is easily recognised by her spherical black body with a prominent red stripe on the upper side of her abdomen and an hourglass-shaped red/orange streak on the underside. Females usually have a body length of about 10 millimetres (0.4 in), while the male is much smaller, being only 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Redback spider (revision 1380136818), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q82544 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).