Brazilian Wandering Spider Facts

Come and discover with me some of the unknown Brazilian Wandering Spider Facts including the deep insights about its deadly toxicity and foraging behavior. Brazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria) is also called for various names such as armed spiders and banana spiders.

These species are extremely venomous spiders that inhabits all throughout the Central and South America. They belong to the family of Ctenidae.

They have also emerged as the most venomous spiders in the Guinness World Records (2010 edition).

According to the Terry Childs, the director of University of Tulsa animal facilities, the Brazilian wandering spider bite will kill a person within 25 minutes. These types of lethal spiders tend to come at night while looking out for the prey.

These species are not adept to wait in ambush for a long time.

Brazilian Wandering Spider Facts

The name of this spider refers to the generic name for eight spider species that are linked to the Phoneutria. They are vigilant species that is ready all the time to hunt its prey and they do not wander around their web mostly.
Brazilian wandering spiders can be recognized as standing on the back legs while lifting its front legs.
They are by far the most lethal spider species in that they do not even hesitate to attack humans if provoked.
The length of the Brazilian wandering spider measures around 17 – 48 mm (0.7 – 1.9 inches), with the leg span measuring at 13 – 15 cm (4 – 5 inches).
As the name indicates, these spiders tend to wander around the jungle in the midnight instead of staying at its web.
While they come out at night, wandering spiders spend most of their daytime in the termite mounds underneath the fallen rocks.
Of all the wandering spiders, these two species are considered to be most lethal; P. fera and P. nigriventer.
Apart from death, this spider’s venom can lead to a medical condition called priapism in which the penis becomes incapable to return to its drooping state. The victim may suffer from this type of condition for many hours after being attacked, and can also cause absolute weakness.
Brazilian wandering spiders are also known to reside in the highly populated areas of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Espirito Sanito.
According to the latest research, the wandering spiders infuse no venom in 30% of their bites in fact a small amount of venom is injected in another 30%.

Distribution and Habitat

Brazilian wandering spiders inhabit all along the dense forests of Costa Rica, East Andes, Venezuela, Columbia, Peru, Amazon forests, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guianas, Payaguay, and of course Brazil.
Some of the species are also found in the Southern America and the Amazon region. These are P. reidyi and P. boliviensis. However, there are species that are solely limited to the Atlantic Forest of Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, and some thick forests of Cerrado.
They do not exist in the northeastern part of the Salvador, Brazil. In few countries these venomous spiders have been introduced such as in Chile and Uruguay.

Species