New Black Widow Spider Species With Purple Egg Sac Discovered by Scientist in South Africa

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A newly identified species of venomous spider has been making waves in the scientific community for two notable reasons. Not only is the spider bigger and bolder than its cousin, the renowned black widow, but its egg sac is a distinctive bright-purple hue.

First found in the South African sand forests of Phinda, KwaZulu-Natal Province, it is being hailed as the most significant venomous spider discovery in decades.

The forest-dwelling spider was discovered by Barbara Wright, director of the entomology department at South Africa’s Wild Tomorrow Fund (WTF). The WTF team took to Facebook on Feb. 5, 2019, to celebrate Wright’s discovery and the very first footage of the arachnid to be shared online.

“When we did this interview,” the team explained, “the genetic work hadn’t yet been completed. At the time, based on morphology, we believed this beautiful girl was more likely part of the Latrodectus tredecimguttatus group, although now it appears to be more closely related to L. geometricus.”

As per WTF, the Latrodectus family at large are commonly referred to as “button spiders” in South Africa, “redback spiders” in Australia, “katipo” in New Zealand, and “widow spiders” elsewhere in the world.

Unlike widow spiders, however, the newly discovered type has a bright-red stripe on her back resembling an exclamation point. The male spider is significantly smaller and pale brown with a checkered back pattern.

The spider’s highly unusual purple egg sac is large and smooth, Wright noted, but while suspected of being highly venomous, these spiders likely pose little threat to humans.

“They are extremely secretive and shy spiders,” Wright explained to Gizmodo, “and hide in tree hollows in a vegetation type that is rare and few people have access to it.”

Wright named the arachnid the “Phinda button spider” after the forest in which it was first found, and after months of further research, the spider was successfully re-classified.

On Nov. 26, 2019, WTF celebrated their first official publication of their paper on the Phinda button spider. “Latrodectus umbukwane,” they posted on Facebook, “is now official. Umbukwane is the iSiZulu word for something so spectacular you cannot just walk by.”

The paper was, in fact, the culmination of years of entomological research. Wright and her husband, Clinton, had been investigating the spider since 2014 before eventually confirming, and celebrating, its correct identification.

“In February 2014,” Barbara Wright explained in a blog post on the WTF website, “we got a phone call from Naomi Schutte, the wife of Tembe Elephant Park manager Richard Schutte. We had asked them to let us know if they saw anything interesting that crawls on 6 or 8 legs.”

The Schuttes delivered. “Naomi had found a cool looking spider in the hollow of a tree in her garden,” Barbara recalled. “We rushed to see it first thing in the morning.”

They believed they had found a new species, but their claim was hard to substantiate with only a single specimen. They observed the female spider for over two years and, upon her death, sent her body to a university for identification.

The results were inconclusive. The Wrights embarked upon a mission to obtain further specimens, but a meeting with arachnid specialist Dr. Ian Engelbrecht in 2019 reaped an exciting verdict; the spider was a new species, after all.

“When Barbara showed me the first photo, I literally could not believe this spider existed and that it was unknown to science,” said Engelbrecht, as per Africa Geographic. “Discovering a new species is always exciting, but the feeling of finding something so spectacular and unique is indescribable.”

Widow and button spiders, Engelbrecht explained, are medically important for humans; understanding their diversity and characteristics is crucial for human health. While Barbara admitted that the entire years-long investigation had been consuming from beginning to end, she remained excited by its implications.

“Finding something as unique and special as the Phinda button spider,” she said, as per WTF, “simply showcases the possibilities of what might still be out there waiting to be found.”