Kingdom Animalia Subphylum Chelicerata Order Araneae Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Class Arachnida Infraorder Araneomorphae | |
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Similar Sicariidae, Mediterranean recluse spider, Arizona night lizard, Recluse spider, Arizona striped whiptail | ||
Loxosceles deserta, commonly known as the desert recluse, is a brown spider of the Sicariidae family.
Contents
The desert recluse is commonly misidentified as L. unicolor (of South America) or as L. reclusa (the brown recluse of the southern and midwestern states), two spiders which do not live anywhere near the vicinity.
Distribution
This spider can be found in the eastern half of southern California, the southern tip of Nevada, and the western half of Arizona, as well as the southwestern corner of Utah.
It dwells in the wild, and its only domestic occurrence is that near native vegetation, avoiding urban areas in the desert and even green lawns. The spiders are particularly dense in packrat dens.
Venom
Lesions of the skin can be caused by the venomous bite of the desert recluse. This occurs through the same mechanism responsible for the effects of the brown recluse bite.