Editing Redback spider (section)

===Placement===
A member of the genus ''Latrodectus'' in the family [[Theridiidae]], the redback belongs in a [[clade]] with the black widow spider,<ref name="garb 2004"/> with the [[katipō]] as its closest relative.<ref name="vink"/> A 2004 molecular study supports the redback's status as a distinct species, as does the unique abdomen-presenting behaviour of the male during mating.<ref name="garb 2004"/> The close relationship between the two species is shown when mating: the male redback is able to successfully mate with a female katipō producing [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]] offspring. However, the male katipō is too heavy to mate with the female redback, as it triggers a predatory response in the female when it approaches the web, causing the female to eat it.<ref name="Riordan">{{cite web | title =Species Profile: Katipo Spider | first =Hilary Ann | last =Riordan | publisher =CanterburyNature | date =July 2005 | url =http://www.canterburynature.org/species/lincoln_essays/katipo.php | access-date =27 May 2008 | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090328215538/http://www.canterburynature.org/species/lincoln_essays/katipo.php | archive-date =28 March 2009 | df =dmy-all }}</ref> There is evidence of interbreeding between female katipō and male redbacks in the wild.<ref name="vink">{{cite journal |last1=Vink|first1=Cor J.|last2=Sirvid|first2=Phil J.|last3=Malumbres-Olarte|first3=Jagoba|last4=Griffiths|first4=James W.|last5=Paquin|first5=Pierre|last6=Paterson|first6=Adrian M. |title=Species Status and Conservation Issues of New Zealand's Endemic ''Latrodectus'' Spider Species (Araneae: Theridiidae) |journal=Invertebrate Systematics |volume=22 |issue=6 |pages=589–604 |year=2008 |doi=10.1071/IS08027 |issn=1445-5226 |oclc=50150601 |publisher=[[CSIRO]] Publishing |location=Collingwood, Victoria, Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/85767262/Katipo-faces-challenges-from-Australian-and-South-African-spider-relatives|title=Katipo faces challenges from Australian and South African spider relatives|date=31 October 2016|access-date=31 October 2016|first=Mick|last=Whittle|publisher=Stuff|archive-date=10 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180710080657/https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/85767262/Katipo-faces-challenges-from-Australian-and-South-African-spider-relatives|url-status=live}}</ref>