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mistiki mistiki
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Which is the world's most poisonous spider?

  • 2 years ago
Jeff Sadler by Jeff Sadler
Member since:
April 07, 2007
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Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

This is the one case where the Guinness book of world records is wrong. Before invention of the anti venom the Sydney funnel web claimed an amazing number of lives. Usually small children. One source I read once quoted an estimate of 30% death rate, though I do not believe that accurate. Since the development of the anti venom no lives have been lost. Most bites are caused by the males when they are searching for mates. These spiders can be quite aggressive, actively attacking anyone who gets to close. To make matters worse they inject an unbelievable amount of venom for a spider. They have so much venom that it literally drips freely from the fangs of an agitated spider.

The wandering spider has a more potent venom but injects much less, so the over all effect is less. It is also fairly secretive and non aggressive. Most people bitten by a wandering spider suffer severe fever and weakness for a couple of hours. One of the things that contributed to the fame of the wandering spider is the movie Tarantula where the wandering spiders venom, aggression, and reproductive capacity was greatly exaggerated.

The black widow and relatives inject a far more potent venom. However they only inject a fraction of the amount. In fact a fraction of a drop. It is a nerve toxin. That small amount is enough to cause headaches, fever, dizziness, and weakness for days. However, it is seldom fatal due to the small doses.
  • 2 years ago
Asker's Rating:
5 out of 5
Asker's Comment:
good info, thank you.
The wandering spider non aggressive PMSL and you got best answer lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

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