A highly venomous New Zealand spider which is black with a red spot on the back, closely related to the American black widow.
毛利毒蛛，毛利黑寡妇蜘蛛
Latrodectus mactans katipo, family Theridiidae
Example sentencesExamples
Unlike many other beaches, Uretiti's sand dunes were largely intact and grasses such as pingao and spinifex grew on the dunes which were ideal for katipo to build insect-snaring webs on.
The katipo spider is a coastal sand dune specialist, and is mostly found on the dunes of warm sandy beaches.
Today, however, the likelihood of being bitten by katipo is becoming increasingly remote, as this icon of our coastal dune systems is rapidly disappearing.
The red katipo is endangered because its habitats are being destroyed by forestry.
Like others of this kind, the katipo lives for only a year, just time to produce the next year's generation.