Background And Aims Text: Spiders of the genus Latrodectus Walckenaer, 1805, commonly known as Widow or Button spiders, are globally infamous for their highly neurotoxic venom, which in humans, affects the neuromuscular endplates and synapses in the central nervous system. The medical syndrome caused by their bite is known as latrodectism and can result in a variety of symptoms, including the rigidness of stomach muscles, sweating, aches, local pain, and in some rare cases, death. From about 30 described species worldwide, five species have been reported from Iran so far: L. dahli Levi, 1959, L. geometricus C.L. Koch, 1841, L. pallidus O.P. Cambridge, 1872, L. tredecimguttatus Rossi, 1790 and L. hasseltii Thorell, 1870. The aim of this study was to investigate the true presence of L. hasseltii in Iran. Method Text: Collecting methods included visual inspections and direct hand collection during day time. Specimens were preserved in 75 ethanol by the moment of capture, and were later observed and photographed using a Nikon SMZ 1000 stereo microscope and Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III camera. Result Text: Detailed investigation of the copulatory organs revealed that the specimens belong to the species L. renivulvatus Dahl, 1902, which has a global distribution including Africa, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Conclusion Text: Considering the extreme physical similarities between L. hasseltii and Iranian populations of L. renivulvatus, and the fact that none of the three previous reports of L. hasseltii from Iran were provided with reliable figures, it’s safe to assume that those reports were misidentifications of L. renivulvatus. Therefore, it is suggested that this species should be removed from the list of spiders of Iran.

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