Today we present to you 7 nightmarish spiders you’ll never want to encounter.
These six-legged sacks of venom will leave you with nightmares!
Number 7: The Jumping Spider The Salticidae spider family, also called
the jumping spider, contains over 600 described genera and over 5800 species.
They are specifically known for being very agile while hunting and even executive jumps,
especially in response to sudden threats.
Jumping spiders are usually found in tropical forests, temperate forests, deserts and mountainous
regions.
One species, called Euophrys omnisuperstes, has been reportedly collected at the highest
elevation, on the slopes of Mount Everest.
Jumping spiders are easy to distinguish from other genus because of their specific characteristics,
such as prominent eyes.
Their body length ranges from 0.04 to 0.98 inches.
Their front legs are generally larger than the hind, but they depend on their rear legs
for jumping, while the front ones are used to assist in grasping prey.
In order to jump, they use their internal hydraulic system, to help them extend the
limbs by altering the pressure of body fluid within them.
This means they can perform jumps without having large muscular legs.
Jumping spiders are also known for their excellent vision, considering the fact that they have
eight eyes.
The large posterior eyes are adapted to vision in dim light, in some species, while in others
the large anterior eyes are adapted to detailed, three-dimensional vision, for estimating the
range, direction and nature of potential prey.
Jumping spiders are diurnal, active hunters.
Although they are not considered to be a danger to humans, people that encounter them might
be frightened by their looks and jumping skills.
Number 6: The Wolf spider Wolf spiders belong to the family Lycosidae,
and are easy to recognize by their robust bodies and prominent shining eyes.
They are known for having excellent vision, due to their 8 eight large eyes, arranged
in three rows.
Flashing a light over the Wolf spider will produce eyeshine.
Depending on the genera, their body size can range from 0.4 to 1.38 inches.
Wolf spiders are nocturnal and depend on camouflage for protection.
This means their body color is adapted to their favorite habitat.
Some species will make deep tubular burrows, while others will seek shelter under rocks
or leaves.
They are most likely to be found around grassy areas, or farm fields, in nature, or around
windows, doors, houseplants and inside the house.
They hunt on the ground, and are rather solitary creatures, despite the name that would suggest
they live in packs.
Wolf spiders are not aggressive, but will bite when provoked.
Their venom is not debt Lee to humans, but their bites can be very painful.
Symptoms of being bit by one may include swelling or itching.
The pain will go away in a few days, but if the bite is left untreated, it can result
in neck lone sis.
Wolf spiders live in many regions around the world, but are most commonly found around
North and South Carolina.
In 2000, the Carolina wolf spider was designated the official state spider of South Carolina.
Number 5: Mouse spiders Mouse spiders, scientifically known as Missulena,
are medium to large spiders.
Their bodies range from 0.39 to 1.20 inches in length.
Females are all black, while males have specific colouration, depending on the species.
For example, male red-headed mouse spiders are brown or blue-black in color, with bright
red-tinged jaws, and male eastern mouse spiders have blue patches.
There are 17 known species in the Missulena genus, and all but one are indigenous to Australia.
One species may be found in Chile, and the nearest related genera occur in South America.
They prefer to live in burrows that can extend to the depth of 12 inches, which provide shelter
from predators and parasites, but also high temperatures.
These burrows are dug in soil, covered with a hinged top, known as the trapdoor.
Mouse spiders feed on insects, but also some small animals.
Both males and females have large fangs and will bite if provoked.
They do not pose a threat to humans unless they feel in danger.
Some of them may envenom humans, but can also give dry bites.
When bit by a Mouse spider, humans may have symptoms like tingling around the mouth and
tongue, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, sweating or even facial muscle twitching.
However, serious envenomings in humans are rare, and most bites documented in the medical
literature did not involve serious symptoms or require antivenom.
Number 4: The Sydney Funnel-Web Spider The Sydney funnel-web spider or Atrax robustus
is a venomous spider native to eastern Australia.
It got its name because it is usually found within a 62 mile radius of Sydney, but also
from weaving a tubular burrow retreats lined with silk, with collapsed or open “funnels”.
The Sydney funnel-web spider may also be found around the Central Coast of Australia, to
the Illawarra region, and west of Sydney, to the Blue Mountains in New South Wales.
It is medium to large, its body length reaching up to 2 inches in length.
Also, both males and females are darkly colored, glossy, with an almost hairless carapace.
While females have a larger body, male specimens usually have longer legs.
Sydney funnel-web spiders spend most of their time in their burrows, rushing out only when
potential prey walks across the trip-lines.
They feed on insects, frogs or lizards, which they subdue by injecting them with their venom.
Males wander more during the warmer times of the year, in search of females for mating.
Sydney funnel-web spiders are nocturnal, because day-time conditions could dehydrate them.
They are most active during or after the rain, as their burrows might get flooded.
Sydney funnel-web spiders are very dangerous to people, being able to cause serious injuries.
Their venom is highly toxic to humans and other primates, and can cause debtif the bite
is left untreated.
They are defensive and rear up on their hind legs displaying their fangs when they feel
threatened.
They strike repeatedly and deliver full envenomations when biting.
Their bites are very painful, and symptoms indicating you have been attacked by a Sydney
funnel-web spider include visible fang marks, drooling, double vision, numbness in the mouth
or lips, rapid heart rate, difficulty breathing, joint pain, severe muscle spasms, confusion,
agitation or even coma.
In some cases, after biting, Sydney funnel spiders will remain attached until dislodged.
Number 3: Black Widows The Black widow, scientifically named Latrodectus
mactans, is a highly venomous species of spider which belongs to the family Therididae, most
commonly known as widow spiders.
It is native to North America and there are two species: the northern black widow, found
in the northeastern United States, as far west as Texas and as far north as Ohio, and
the southern black widow, which can be found in the northeastern United States and also
Canada, where it ranges in the southern parts of Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba
and Saskatchewan.
Black widow females are easy to recognize by their shiny black bodies, with the distinctive
red hourglass-shaped marking on the abdomen.
Some female widows have a red or orange patch above the spinnerets on the top of the abdomen.
Males are purple or gray.
Female’s bodies range from 0.31 to 0.51 inches, depending on whether they are carrying
eggs or not.
Males, however, are much smaller, reaching up to 0.24 inches in body size.
Black widows weave three-dimensional tangled webs, and produce exceptionally strong silk.
Their web is strong enough to catch animals as large as mice.
Males also use sperm webs for reproduction, by depositing seen men on it.
Female Black widows may eat the males after mating.
These spiders usually prey on insects, but may occasionally feed on other arachnids,
woodlice, diplopods or chilopods.
Although they are highly venomous, only mature females are dangerous to humans, being capable
of envenomation.
They have hollow, needle-like mouthparts called chelicerae, which they use for injecting venom.
The symptoms of being bit by a mature Black widow female are pain, vermon thing, sweating
and muscle rigidity, which are also the symptoms of the illness Latrodectism, caused by the
bite of a Latrodectus spiders.
This illness is rarely faith hill to humans, contrary to popular belief.
Nevertheless, domestic cats that have been bit by the Black widow have been known to
dye with convulsion and paralysis.
Number 2: The Goliath Birdeater The Goliath birdeater spider is a species
that belongs to the tarantula family Theraphosidae.
It is usually found in northern South America, being native to the upland rain forest regions
like Guyana, French Guyana, Suriname, northern Brazil and southern Venezuela.
It is a nocturnal species and likes living in deep burrows, marshy or swampy areas.
It is known for being the largest spider in the world by size and mass, reaching a body
length of up to 4.7 inches and a body weight of up to.
6.2 oz.
Its name comes from an 18th-century copper engraving that shows one eating a hummingbird.
However, Goliath birdeater spiders prey on adult birds very rarely.
They usually eat earthworms and toads and have been occasionally observed preying on
lizards, frogs, mice and even snakes.
These spiders do not pose a threat to humans unless provoked.
Goliath birdeaters have fangs where they carry venom and that are large enough to break the
human skin.
However, the effects of being bitten by such a spider are similar to being stung by a wasp.
Generally, tarantulas only bite humans when feeling threatened, and not all bites result
in envenomation.
When they are in danger, they may rub their abdomen with their hind legs, releasing hairs
that cause severe irritations to the skin and mucous membranes.
This species is considered to have the most harmful tarantula urticating hair of all tarantula
species.
Goliath birdeater spiders also respond to threats by making a sound called stridulation,
resulted from rubbing together the hair-like protrusions on their legs.
Number 1: The Brazilian Wandering Spider Phoneutria nigriventer, also known as the
Brazilian wandering spider, is a species of the venomous genus Phoneutria.
It is mostly found in tropical South America, in countries like Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay
or Argentina, and usually like to wander the jungle floor at night, rather than maintaining
a web, like most spiders do.
While they are active during the night, Brazilian wandering spiders spend their days hiding
in dark and moist places near human dwellings.
Spiders in the Phoneutria genus can reach a leg span of 5.1 to 5.9 inches, and a body
length that ranges from 0.67 to 1.89 inches.
Specimens have dense prolateral scopulae - a dense brush of fine hairs – a distinct feature
that distinguishes the genus from other related genera.
Their scary appearance is paired with the high toxicity of their venom, which contains
a potent neurotoxin that causes loss of muscle control, breathing problems, paralysis and
eventual asphyxiation.
The Brazilian wandering spider's bite is extremely painful and causes inflammation.
Scientists discovered that females produce a higher quantity of venom.
Even though they are to be taken in consideration as a real danger to humans, Brazilian wandering
spiders usually envenom very small prey, rarely attacking larger animals.
Nevertheless, their bites had already killed 14 documented people until 1996, when an antidote
was found.