Size: Brown recluse spiders may grow to have a body about 5/8-inch in length and a leg span of 1-1/2 inches in diameter.

Color: The color is usually light brown but may be darker in some specimens.

The key identifying characters are the six eyes arranged in three pairs at the front of the head area and the fiddle-shaped marking on the back. The brown recluse spider is often called the "violin" spider or "fiddleback" spider because of the distinctive fiddle-shaped marking on top of its cephalothorax (head end to which the legs are attached).