General Description
Spider dark brown to black with a small cephalothorax and large round abdomen. Red hour-glass marking underneath the abdomen and a wide, red stripe at back of the abdomen. Juveniles have additional white markings. Body up to 0.4 cm long (male), 1 cm long (female).
Biology
Redbacks rarely leave their web and, if threatened, fall to the bottom of the web and pretend to be dead. They only bite if touched and usually feed on insects.
Distribution
Mainland Australia and Tasmania.
Habitat
Most areas, including near buildings.
More Information
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Animal Type
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Animal SubType
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Brief Id
Black spider with a red stripe on top of the abdomen and a red hour-glass marking underneath.
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Colours
Black, Red
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Habitats
Wetland, Urban, DryForest, WetForest, Woodland, Mallee, Grassland
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Where To Look
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Diet
Invertebrates
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Hazards
Bite can be highly venomous. Symptoms include localised increasing pain and sweating at the bite site, muscular weakness, loss of coordination, nausea, vomiting and convulsions.
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Endemicity
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Conservation Statuses
CITES: Not listed, FFG Threatened List: Not listed, EPBC Act 1999: Not listed, IUCN Red List: Not listed
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Web
Web
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Taxon Name
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Scientific Author
Thorell, 1870
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Common Name
Redback spider
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Kingdom
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Phylum
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Subphylum
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Class
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Order
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Infraorder
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Family
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Genus
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Species Name
hasseltii
