CLOSED: What species is this spider? North Missouri, USA

I found this spider in my restroom. We find a spider occasionally and I don't mind the non-aggressive or non-dangerous ones. Since I'm not good at determining species apart, and this one seems to have a hint of what in my opinion looks like a fiddle on its back, I would like an opinion from the smart guys. Could it be a..... Brown Recluse? If so, it is either a male or a juvenile because it is only about 1/4 inch body length. Total leg span is aprox 2/3 inch. There was no signs of a web anywhere in the restroom, and it was roaming on the floor.
Thanks so much for helping me!

PS: I have several pics from different angles if you need to see more.

You might actually have the real thing here. 1/4 inch is actually the typical size for a brown recluse, although they can grow to be larger. Please post the other pictures, especially if you have one of the eyes, then we'll be able to be sure. If there are six eyes, three pairs (dyads), then it is likely a brown recluse.

Luckily, I still have it. I did kill it though, but I placed it in a cup and poured alcohol in it. That seems to have preserved it pretty well. The first pic was the best angle I had of its eyes, but I got some more after I retrieved it from the alcohol. Its so hard to count eyes because its very small. This pic is postmortem. I have another camera that I will try to get better pics using it.

closeup and cropped.

Another closeup. I have a Kodak Z740 with a lens adapter which was causing the shading on the closeups. I removed the adapter and gained a little bit more flash area. Still not super good photos, but this is a small object to shoot.

This message was edited Jul 1, 2010 3:44 AM

On a tape measure.

One of the original pics possibly showing its back a little better.

Ok, hopefully the last one. But I finally gave up on the flash and used a flashlight instead. I was able to focus much closer that way.

drrex is correct; you appear to have the 'real thing' (Loxosceles reclusa) here- see http://tinyurl.com/r8jz5
Fortunately, these are not aggressive spiders; most bites appear to occur when a spider is pressed against skin by clothing or bedding. There are reports in the literature about people living in houses having extensive populations of these spiders where no one ever was bitten by one.

I agree, looks like I have Brown Recluse spiders in our house. But I read online that aprox 70% of homes have them. We bought sticky traps, hopefully that will help. If I knew we weren't allergic to their bite, I wouldn't be too concerned. Thanks for helping Identify it!

I have killed 4 brown recluse in 2 days in our house so far. Here is my latest kill.

close up

i lived in an old house in missouri for 15 yrs. and saw at least one a day, usually in the basement but they didn't confine themselves to that area by any means. in all that time, not one of us in the house was ever bitten (that we know of). not everyone has a severe reaction and skin lesions.