Interesting hypothesis and thank you for your comment! I have been asking locals here (I’m a more recent immigrant) and it seems likely it is a member of the loxosceles genus. The Steatoda noblis appears to be Europe and we are in Colombia, so although not impossible it’s unlikely to be one of those. Either way, they both have a serious bite, so I’ll give it my respect.
In fact I’ve just seen one on the stairs in better light, so will get another photo when I can.
You’re probably right, the legs are a bit long for Steatoda. I ordered some books about worldwide spiders, the internet info appears to mainly aimed at Europe and North America. In my personal experience, wherever you are in the world, don’t just go with the identifications by locals 😉 I’ve been surprised at how many people can’t identify some common large animals. So, thanks for asking and for making sure we get it right!
Yes, the Internet only seems to have pics of the famous/infamous ones! I found some written articles describing specimens found, but I’ve got no hope of identifying that way.
Thank you for your interest – let’s see if it’s in one of your books. I should elaborate that I asked a friend who is a toxicologist, who seems to know a little more. He says spider stuff is part of the training here, which would make sense. However, it doesn’t look like its other recluse family cousins, so who knows!
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I think this may be a “noble false widow,” Steatoda noblis.
Interesting hypothesis and thank you for your comment! I have been asking locals here (I’m a more recent immigrant) and it seems likely it is a member of the loxosceles genus. The Steatoda noblis appears to be Europe and we are in Colombia, so although not impossible it’s unlikely to be one of those. Either way, they both have a serious bite, so I’ll give it my respect.
In fact I’ve just seen one on the stairs in better light, so will get another photo when I can.
You’re probably right, the legs are a bit long for Steatoda. I ordered some books about worldwide spiders, the internet info appears to mainly aimed at Europe and North America. In my personal experience, wherever you are in the world, don’t just go with the identifications by locals 😉 I’ve been surprised at how many people can’t identify some common large animals. So, thanks for asking and for making sure we get it right!
Yes, the Internet only seems to have pics of the famous/infamous ones! I found some written articles describing specimens found, but I’ve got no hope of identifying that way.
Thank you for your interest – let’s see if it’s in one of your books. I should elaborate that I asked a friend who is a toxicologist, who seems to know a little more. He says spider stuff is part of the training here, which would make sense. However, it doesn’t look like its other recluse family cousins, so who knows!
Thanks! Please let us know if you get an answer before we do.