Taxonomy
Although the 'kātĕpo' was reported to the Linnean Society as early as 1855, the katipo was formally described as Latrodectus katipo by L. Powell in 1870. Spiders of the genus Latrodectus have a worldwide distribution and include all of the commonly known widow spiders, namely the North American black widow spider (Latrodectus mactans), the brown widow (Latrodectus geometricus) and the European black widow (Latrodectus tredecimguttatus). The katipo's closest relative is the Australian redback spider (Latrodectus hasseltii) Latrodectus katipo and L. atritus (black katipo) were previously thought to be two separate species, however, research has shown that there is only one species, L. katipo, and colour variation in that species is clinal over latitude and correlates significantly with mean annual temperature. The katipo are so closely related to the redback that they were at one stage thought to be a subspecies. It was proposed that the katipo be named Latrodectus hasseltii katipo. Further research has shown that the katipo is distinct from the redback, having slight structural differences and striking differences in habitat preference, and it remains its own species. The katipo's family Theridiidae has a large number of species both in New Zealand and worldwide and are commonly known as tangle-web spiders, cobweb spiders or comb-footed spiders.
The common name, katipo, is a Māori name and means night stinger; it is derived from two words, kakati (to sting), and po (the night). This name was apparently given to the spider due to the Māori belief that the spiders bite at night. Other common names include red katipo, black katipo and New Zealand's redback.
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