At spiders are invertebrate animals that belong to the arthropod phylum and arachnid class. While some are harmless, others can inject poison and pose a danger to man and other vertebrate animals.
Spider bites can cause redness, pain, swelling, headache and in more severe cases, death. It will all depend on the species, amount of injected poison and the victim's bodily characteristics.
Meet the most venomous spiders in the world:
1. Spider-arms
THE spider armada (Phoneutria sp.) is considered the most dangerous in the world, being found in Brazil. Several species of weapon spiders are found in South America. In Brazil, it is one of the spiders that cause the most accidents.
It is an aggressive species and its large amount of venom can kill a person. To give you an idea, just 0.006 mg of its poison is enough to kill a mouse. And that's not all, the venom of the armada spider can act faster than that of many snakes!
Cases of deaths of people due to the venom of the armadeira spider have already been reported, including in Brazil. Currently, there is already an antidote against the poison of this very dangerous spider.
2. Brown spider
THE Brown spider belongs to the genus loxosceles, of which eight species occur in Brazil.
Sometimes the bite of the brown spider can go unnoticed, until changes are noticed in the affected area, such as: sores, swelling, redness and blisters. At the site of the bite, necrosis may occur, that is, tissue death.
Despite not being an aggressive spider, cases of accidents with humans have already been reported. The most common thing is to be surprised by the presence of the spider in a domestic environment, where it is found inside shoes or mixed with bed linen.
3. funnel-web spider
The funnel-web spider (Atrax robustus) is native to Australia, its name is due to the fact that it makes webs that resemble funnels.
Funnel spider's venom is one of the most dangerous and can be fatal to humans by affecting the nervous system. These spiders are aggressive and use their paws to catch their haste and inject their venom.
The funnel-web spider has claimed several victims in Australia. In the 80's an antidote was formulated against the funnel-web spider's venom, since then no more deaths related to accidents with this spider have been recorded.
4. Black Widow
The Black Widow Spider (Latrodectus mactans), known for killing and feeding on the male after copulation, is found throughout America.
Only females bite humans and cause accidents. The sting causes pain, cramps in the affected area and as the poison spreads through the body, other more intense symptoms appear. Without medical help, the victim could die.
5. mouse spider
The mouse spider (Missulena occatoria) is found in Australia, and its name derives from the fact that they dig burrows to serve as a hiding place for predators and a safe place to store their eggs and chicks.
Despite not being aggressive, mouse spiders have a powerful venom, but with few recorded incidents of accidents.
6. red-backed spider
The red-backed spider (Latrodectus hasseltii) is native to Australia and introduced in many places around the world. It stands out for the presence of a longitudinal red band on the upper abdomen.
Like black widows, red-backed spiders also feed on males after copulation.
Its sting causes intense pain, followed by sweating, muscle spasms, tachycardia, nausea and vomiting. Until the discovery of the vaccine against its venom, the red-backed spider was responsible for the death of some people.
7. sand spider
The Sand Spider (Sicarius sp.) receives this name because it uses sand to camouflage itself, because it inhabits the deserts of Africa and South America.
Its sting causes pain, necrosis of the affected tissue, injuries and other complications, as the poison spreads through the body, potentially leading to death. There is still no antidote against sand spider venom.
Curiosities
- Spiders can be terrifying beings for some people, who develop extreme fear of these animals, which is called arachnophobia.
- It is believed that 5% of the world's population is affected by arachnophobia.
