The medical importance of Loxosceles spiders has promoted extensive research on different aspects of their
venoms. Most of the reported cases of
loxoscelism have occurred in the Americas, and thus, much work has focused on North and South American Loxosceles species. Interestingly,
loxoscelism cases are rare in the Mediterranean Basin although Loxosceles rufescens, endemic to the Mediterranean, is an abundant spider even in human-altered areas. Thus, it has been suggested that the
venom of L. rufescens could be of less medical relevance than that of its congeners. In this study, we challenge this hypothesis by using multiple approaches to study
venom variation in selected species and lineages from the Mediterranean Basin and the Canary Islands. We found that SMase D activity, the key bioactive component of
Loxosceles venom, is comparable to American species that are confirmed to have medically relevant
bites. The
venom protein composition using SDS-PAGE presents some differences among regional Loxosceles taxa in banding pattern and intensity, mostly between the Canarian and L. rufescens lineages. Differences between these species also exist in the expression of different paralogs of the SicTox gene family, with the Canarian species being less diverse. In conclusion, our results do not support the challenged hypothesis, and suggest that
venom of these species may indeed be as potent as other Loxosceles species. Pending confirmation of
loxoscelism with direct evidence of Loxosceles
bites with species identification by professionals, Loxosceles in the Mediterranean region should conservatively be considered medically relevant taxa.