Maldives Police Service confirms the Brown Widow spiders were discovered in a few islands of Kaafu atoll apart from Maafushi.
Police collected specimen of the spider which was transferred to Ministry of Health for species verification.
The Vector Control Unit of the Ministry confirms the species of spiders discovered from the islands were in fact Brown Widow, scientifically known as 'Latrodectus geometricus.'
The species carries other common names such as 'brown button spider', 'grey widow', 'brown black widow', 'house button spider' and even 'geometric button spider' but more famously known as Brown Widows.
The Brown Widows have the same genus as Black Widows, "Latrodectus" and are 'cousins' to Black Widows (Latrodectus mactans).
Geographically the Brown Widows originate from South Africa according to many researchers, while several specimens were discovered from both Africa and South America.
Regions and countries where the spiders are found as natural inhabitants include South Africa, United States including Hawaii, Australia, Afghanistan, Dominican Republic, Cyprus, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Uruguay, Brazil along with China and Japan.
However, there have been many reported sightings from United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Thailand and even in India.
Much like all other Latrodectus species, the L. geometricus or Brown Widows do carry within them neurotoxic venom.
Unlike their stronger 'cousins', the bites of Brown Widows are not usually very dangerous while the effects of the toxin itself are usually confined to the bite area and the surrounding tissue.
Moreover, the Brown Widow bites are minor compared to their Black Widow counterparts and they cannot deliver the same amount of venom as the Black Widows.
Meanwhile, Maldives Police confirmed the said species of spiders were discovered in the islands of Huraa and Thulusdhoo of Kaafu atoll.
Furthermore the law enforcement authority confirms they were collaborating with relevant authorities and island councils in exterminating the spiders.
The Brown Widows are not naturally found in the Maldivian islands.
