Figure 2
Common morphological characteristics of Latrodectus geometricus according to Koch (1841). (A) The hourglass-shaped streak on the underside of the abdomen (male, Johor, Malaysia). (B) Dome-shaped abdomen typical of a juvenile Theridiidae and the spiky spherical egg sacs (Penang, Malaysia). (C) Embolus inside the palp of the male spider showing four coils. (D) A brown widow caught in central Peninsular Malaysia bearing darker and more spherical features on its abdomen. (E) The epigynum, characteristic of females, with two pairs of spermathecae located on the underside of the abdomen. (F) Spiky spherical egg sacs lined in a row on a window sill of a house (Penang, Malaysia). (G) The dome-shaped abdomen of a female brown widow from the northwest of Peninsular Malaysia bearing lighter features on its abdomen. (H) Egg sacs, moulted skin and live and dead juvenile/adult L. geometricus (yellow arrows) being surrounded by its cobweb. (I) Dorsal aspect of abdomen with distinct pattern surrounded by cobweb, found in and around bicycle compartment.