The katipo is an increasingly rare venomous spider native to New Zealand.
The katipo is an increasingly rare venomous spider native to New Zealand. In 2010, they were declared endangered and protected by the government. Its scientific name of genus and species is Latrodectus katipo. Like other animals endemic to the island, the spider shares characteristics with other related species, such as the “black widows” of North America and Europe, but evolved solely for isolation and adaptation. Its common name is a contraction of the Maori words originating in New Zealand, kakati, which means “to bite” and po which means “night”.
They are most closely related to the Australian spider mite, and a common English name for them is New Zealand spider mite. It has also been shown that a male Australian redback can mate with a female katipo to produce hybrid offspring. When the opposite is attempted, the male katype is immediately attacked and devoured. The two were once classified as simple subspecies, but significant anatomical and behavioral differences dictated their separate designations.
The same classification confusion occurred between the katipo who live in the north of New Zealand and those who inhabit their island to the south. The female of the latter has an orange or red geometric stripe, outlined in white, down the center of her round, black abdomen. Females from the northern islands do not have this marking and were once designated separately as katipo black. However, this color difference has been shown to be the simple result of a respective average temperature difference during the incubation period of an egg. Due to cooler temperatures, they are absent, unable to breed, in the southernmost coastal regions of New Zealand.
Adult male katypes have also been hypothesized and classified as an entirely different species. They are about one-sixth the size of a woman. The head and thorax are brown. The abdomen is white. The reverse is marked by a series of orange-red diamonds, outlined by irregular black lines.
The adult female is a relatively medium-sized spider, about 3.3 cm (1.3 in) in diameter, including legs. Its silky, velvety black abdomen is proportionally larger. Its underside is also marked by a triangular-shaped red spot.
The restricted habitat of the katipo is a single, very narrow niche: coastal sand dunes. They spin their dens, a messy tangle of sticky webs, anchored to coastal plants and debris on the lee side of the dune. Crawling insects, many blown into the trap by the onshore wind, are their main diet. When one is caught, they are quickly stung with poison and also sprayed with additional immobilizing silk.
Its venom is a neurotoxin considered very similar in most species of its genus. Bitten humans will experience extreme pain, redness, and swelling that will spread throughout the punctures. It usually persists for a few hours to a day. On rare occasions, if the venom spreads, symptoms can spread and include: vomiting, chest pain, headache, and muscle tremor. Respiratory failure, seizures, or coma are extremely rare, as the antidote developed from the Australian redback can be given as a preventative measure.