Brazil. Fauna of Brazil. Brazilian spiders and scorpions. Brazilian wandering spider - the most dangerous spider in the world Brazilian "pet" animals

For a long time held the palm among dangerous poisonous spiders " black Widow" But she had to share the championship with the dangerous Brazilian wandering spider. Soldier spider, runner spider, banana spider - these are the names of the formidable arthropod killer all over the world.

Noted in the Guinness Book of Records for its toxicity. Eighty-five percent of bites are fatal. Fortunately, this species is distributed in a limited area.

Brazilian wandering spider

There are two types:

• jumping - moving with sharp jumps;
• running.

Appearance and habitat

Arthropods do not weave webs. It got its name because of its constant movements. As a result, its color changes. Most often it has a sand color, reddish-brown, brownish-brown.

The cephalothorax is relatively small in size. The abdomen is large. Long, thick and hairy limbs.

It reaches up to 15 centimeters in size, which is equal to the palm of an adult.

Central and South America, its tropical forest part, are the most suitable for habitat. Often sighting a spider soldier in houses. Climbs into closets, hides in shoe boxes or clothing bags. Crawls into things scattered on the floor and secluded places indoors (closets, basements, utility rooms, garages).

Almost all the time he wanders, moving from one place to another. Loves the dark time of day. During this period he feels better. At night it actively hunts. During the day, it tries to stay in the shade, hides under logs, crawls under stones, and looks for secluded places where the direct, scorching rays of the sun do not penetrate.

Reproduction and nutrition

Spiders are dioecious. To attract the attention of the female, the male performs a certain dance. Female color a little brighter than that of the male. The male is much larger than the female and has an extra pair of limbs, which he uses during copulation.

The banana spider got its name because of its addiction to bananas. They are often found in packages containing this fruit.

The diet consists of:

• insects;
• small individuals of their own species;
• lizards;
• frogs;
• small rodents;
• amazes small birds, accidentally flying into its accessibility zone.

Deadly poison

Due to its external unattractiveness and love of playing hide and seek, encounters with this arthropod are always unexpected and end sadly for the finder. In a person's home comes in search of peace and quiet. An unexpectedly discovered spider leaves no choice. The state of the soldier spider is always aimed at hunting. The spider is aggressive, but attacks a victim larger than itself only when danger approaches. He instantly takes a fighting stance, raising his front paws towards the victim. Runs quite fast for a spider and can also jump a fair distance.

Its powerful poison causes paralysis of the respiratory muscles, resulting in suffocation and death. From the moment of bite to fatal outcome takes from 2 to 6 hours.

A person who has been bitten must immediately be shown to a doctor.

First symptoms:

1. painful bite;
2. dizziness;
3. heaviness in breathing;
4. increased blood pressure;
5. nausea.

One of the victims of a Brazilian spider bite shared his impressions.

In 1998, a 23-year-old guy was sorting boxes of bananas. A Brazilian spider was hiding in one of them. Disturbed, he bit into his hand young man. As the guy describes his condition: “Bite looks like a pierced thorn, very deep. I immediately felt dizzy, my chest felt so tight that it was difficult to breathe. The pressure rose so much that the heart beat was beating in the chest.” He was not at a loss and immediately asked for help. A life was saved. He was discharged from the hospital the very next day.

In modern medicine there is an antidote to the poison of this killer; it is also toxic and causes certain consequences for the body. For an adult, strong person, a bite causes a severe allergic reaction. Very scary for children, sick or elderly people.

For Russian residents, there is no danger of encountering the Brazilian monster; the climate saves them. But nowadays many Russians love to travel. Exotic places beckon and tropical latitudes. And they can meet him by visiting Brazil and South America. When arriving in such areas, you should always think about safety. Remember, the Brazilian spider loves to live in houses. You need to be especially careful when checking items and boxes in wardrobes. When meeting, do not make sudden movements or pick them up. Try to take it out of the room and check the wardrobe again for the presence of other Brazilian soldier spiders.

When going to travel to any country, study what insects you will encounter. Make up your own medicine card, what medications you can and cannot take. Consult your doctor regarding your health. Most unpleasant moments come from our ignorance of our body. Southern countries- this is a certain risk.

Scientists still found the benefits of poison for humans. Based on it, drugs are being developed to help our strong half gain masculine strength. The venom of this spider may be included in the Guinness Book of Records for the creation of drugs to enhance potency.

Walking through the favelas (the so-called slums) of Rio de Janeiro at night is suicide! There are creatures here with whom you will be very uncomfortable. Look at this creature - this is an ominous Brazilian travel spider and it is not to be trifled with.

These spiders are very aggressive. When in danger, spiders raise their legs, exposing their fangs - this warning should be taken seriously. It is known to be one of the most poisonous spiders in the world. Its bite can be fatal, but its venom also has a strange effect on the human genital area.

If you are a man and if you are bitten by such a spider, you will suffer a very painful and prolonged erection. Scientists are still debating what effect it has on women, but men's brains accept chemical substances in the venom of this spider for substances that the brain produces, causing an erection.

Please note that this spider has been able to cause this effect for millions of years, and people have only recently developed drugs that cause a similar reaction.

This spider has successfully changed its habitat, moving from the jungle to the city, and it doesn't look like it's going to leave Rio anytime soon.

Reference:

The Brazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria, banana spider, Brazilian traveler spider) was included in the 2007 Guinness Book of Records for being responsible for the largest number of human deaths caused by spider bites. What is important is that these spiders are dangerous not only for their poison, but also for their behavior: they do not sit still and do not weave webs, they wander the earth, hiding in buildings, clothes, shoes, cars, anywhere; which significantly increases the risk of unexpectedly meeting them and being bitten.

Brazilian wandering spiders are the most venomous spiders on the planet. They belong to the genus Phoneutria, which consists of several species of spiders. Several of these species, including Phoneutria nigriventer, Phoneutria keyserlingi and Phoneutria fera are called Brazilian wandering spiders.

The term "Brazilian wandering spider" actually refers not only to one spider, but to a number of extremely poisonous species spiders found mainly in South (especially Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Suriname, Peru and Guyana) and Central America. They belong to the genus Phoneutria, which is a member of the venomous spider family Ctenidae.

The Brazilian wandering spider is a very poisonous and aggressive spider. It is also known as the "banana" spider (because these spiders are often found in bunches of bananas). The Brazilian wandering spider "wanders" on the ground in the jungle, rather than living in a burrow or building a web.

Species of Brazilian wandering spiders

According to the integrated taxonomic information system Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), the venomous spider genus Ctenidae contains the following species of Brazilian wandering spiders: Phoneutria fera, Phoneutria nigriventer, Phoneutria bahiensis, Phoneutria boliviensis, Phoneutria eickstedtae, Phoneutria keyserlingi, Phoneutria pertyi and Phoneutria reidyi.

All types of Brazilian wandering spiders mainly Brown, are hairy and have a black spot on their belly. These spiders reach large sizes, with a leg span of about 15 cm and a body size of up to 5 cm.

These spiders are nocturnal hunters, so they spend most of the day hiding in crevices or under logs and come out at night to hunt. They feed on insects, small reptiles, amphibians, mice and other smaller spiders.

Brazilian wandering spider - bite and its consequences.

A Brazilian wandering spider bite can cause full-blown poisoning or be limited to a few painful punctures in the skin. The two most famous and dangerous species wandering spiders are Phoneutria fera and Phoneutria nigriventer.

Brazilian wandering spiders are known for their aggressiveness, as well as their highly venomous bite. However, it is interesting that this behavior is actually a defense mechanism.

When threatened or attacked, they raise their first two pairs of legs, signaling to their predators that they are ready to attack. Their biting is thus an act of self-defense, and they only do so when provoked, either accidentally or intentionally.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are bitten by one of these spiders, you may experience symptoms such as sweating, goosebumps, and severe burning pain at the site of the bite.

Within 30 minutes or so, an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) occurs, blood pressure increases, abdominal cramps occur, body temperature drops below normal, nausea, dizziness, blurred vision and seizures begin.

If you are bitten by a wandering spider, you should seek medical attention immediately. medical care to the appropriate facility, regardless of whether there are initial symptoms. This is very important as the poison can threaten your life.

The venom of these spiders is a complex cocktail of toxins, peptides and proteins that affects ion channels and chemical receptors in the neuromuscular system of the victims.

It so happens that the poison that is Brazilian spider Phoneutria nigriventer injects into its prey, contains several toxic polypeptide fractions. Some of them have been purified and shown to contain the very potent neurotoxin PhTx-3 and six neurotoxic peptides (Tx3-1-Tx3-6).

The experiment showed that PhTx3 and one of the named peptides, TX3-3, act as calcium channel blockers, reducing its amount. A decrease in the amount of calcium affects the entry of glutamate3 and acetylcholine2 into the rat brain.

Speaking in simple words, the venom of Brazilian wandering spiders affects brain function and disorients the victim.

Phoneutria is very interesting spiders, but to keep them in captivity, you need a lot of experience in keeping very fast and aggressive spiders. If not, then it is better to stay away from this species because of their dangerous poison. They are easy to keep and unpretentious in food, but require reasonable and respectful treatment.

The Brazilian wandering spider is fast and very active. Everything would be fine, but it is also very poisonous. It is even considered one of the ten most dangerous spiders on Earth. This spider deservedly received its self-explanatory name: it does not weave webs, like most spiders, because it does not need it. The wandering spider never lives in one place, but always wanders. What is unpleasant for a person is that sometimes he enters houses. In South America, these spiders are often found in clothes or in boxes with clothes and food.

The wandering spider is found only in America, and even then most often in tropical and subtropical regions. There are two types of Brazilian wandering spiders - jumping spiders, which pursue their prey with jerky jumps, and running spiders. The latter run very fast, but lead night look life, and during the day they sit under stones or hide in some other place, including in people's houses.

The Brazilian wandering spider loves to feast on bananas and will not miss the opportunity to climb into a box with this fruit. For its addiction, this spider received another name - the banana spider. But the main food for him is still not fruits. It hunts mainly other spiders and insects, and it also happens that it attacks birds and lizards that are larger than it.

He himself is a rather small predator - only about 10 cm. But his small size does not prevent him from being an excellent hunter and a serious problem for people, and all because he is capable of releasing a solid dose of toxic poison when biting, which is formed at the ends of the chelicerae, in channels of the poisonous glands.

Maybe the venom of the wandering spider is less dangerous than the venom of snakes. Adult healthy person it is unlikely to kill - it will only cause a serious allergic reaction, which modern medicine can quickly cope with. But if a Brazilian wandering spider bites a sick person or small child, then the poison can act faster than the ambulance arrives.

In 1998, one of these spiders bit a 23-year-old American man who was sorting through a box of bananas. The spider was hiding in it. The spider, angry at being disturbed, bit the man on the hand. He immediately went to the hospital, where he received help. This is how the American describes his condition: “When the spider bit me, I felt a thorn penetrate very deeply into my hand. And my head immediately became like a balloon... My chest was so compressed that I could barely breathe. My blood pressure soared, almost to the ceiling, and my heart was pounding so hard that I physically felt it beating. chest. Honestly, I thought I was going to die." Doctors administered an antidote to the victim and thus saved his life. The patient was discharged the next day.

But tragic encounters with stray spiders also happen. In the home of a Brazilian family, a wandering spider hid in the attic. The younger children found it and wanted to play. The spider grabbed my hand youngest daughter. When the brother tried to throw it away, the spider bit the boy too. The parents immediately called an ambulance. The doctors arrived half an hour later, but by this time the three-year-old girl had died and could not be saved.

Fortunately for the residents of Russia, wandering spiders do not live here and are unlikely to

B The banana spider (Phoneutria) or, as it is also called, the Brazilian wandering spider, has the most dangerous poison. The banana spider was included in the Guinness Book of Records in 2010 thanks to its poison. The Brazilian wandering spider belongs to the family of runners (Ctenidae ) and has a rather narrow habitat.

Who discovered the Brazilian wandering spider?

The Brazilian wandering spider was discovered in 1833 by the German zoologist Maximilian Perti. He described the genus Phoneutria to which he classified 2 species of this family: Phoneutria rufibarbis And Phoneutria fera. Translated from Greek, the name of the genus is translated as “killer”. As of 2016, the worldwide catalog of spiders includes 8 representatives of the genus Phoneutria. The name of the spider is justified by the fact that this species is not attached to a specific place and does not weave a web; it hunts at night in the depths tropical forests. Name banana spider was given because it was very often found in the fruits of this particular fruit.

Where does the Banana Spider live?

The banana spider is distributed mainly in South America. The Brazilian wandering spider is found in the forests of Costa Rica and throughout South America. Encounters with this spider have been recorded in countries such as Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay. Three species of the genus Phoneutria have been discovered in the Amazon region. One species lives in Central America, namely Panama and Costa Rica. The remaining species are scattered throughout the forests of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. The Brazilian wandering spider is not found only in the northeastern region. Due to the fact that this spider is not tied to a specific area and travels quite often when transporting goods, its bites are recorded in different parts planets. An example can be given different regions North America and even Europe. Cases of bites have been recorded in England and Spain. It often hides in bundles of fruit, namely bananas, so be careful.

Description and behavior of the Banana Spider

The banana spider has a body length from 17 to 45 millimeters. Its limbs are between 13 and 15 centimeters long. The Brazilian wandering spider can be quite easily confused with some other spider genera, such as the genus Ctenus. It can be distinguished by the presence of dense hairline on the pedipalps. Although this difference cannot be considered very significant, how hallmark should still be specified. Another way to identify a banana spider can be a black line running along the entire length of the arthropod’s body from the head. But this feature is not the most important difference from other spiders. The most important indicator of the Banana Spider can be considered its behavior, because when a threat arises, it takes a special defensive pose. The defensive posture of the Brazilian wandering spider consists of highly raised forelimbs, and it is this defensive reaction that allows this species to be identified. Phoneutria nigriventer contains the most dangerous neurotoxin PhTx3 in its venom. Depending on the dosage, it is widely used in medicine, but if the toxicity limit is exceeded, it is very dangerous. The venom causes loss of muscle control, resulting in suffocation or cardiac arrest. Also characteristic symptom When bitten by a banana spider, preapism occurs. The bite of the Brazilian wandering spider is quite painful. It is known that females produce much more powerful poison than males. So that you understand the danger of this species, in order to kill a mouse weighing 20 grams you need 6 micrograms of poison. There is an antidote for the venom of the banana spider, which is very effective for its bites. As a result, the number of deaths has dropped to a minimum.