Brazilian Wandering Spider – The Most Poisonous In The World

The Most Venomous Spider On Earth: Phoneutria (The Wandering Brazilian)

He’s big, ugly and more importantly, he’s the most poisonous spider in the world… The Brazilian wandering spider, scientifically known as Phoneutria, is officially the most venomous spider in the world. The Brazilian Wanderer even received certification for its deadliness, as it’s listed in the Guinness World Records 2012 as the most poisonous spider in the world.

This wicked critter can have a leg span of up to 13–15 cm (4–5 inches) and its body varies from 17 to 48 mm. The spider is highly dangerous and well known for its aggressively and every encounter with it may lead to death.

Even its name indicates how deadly it is, the word Phoneutria means murderer in Greek… Did we mention that it’s highly aggressive? If you’re thinking you can fight it off with a broom, as we do with most of our eight-legged opponents, think again! The Brazilian wandering spider has been known to frequently climb up the broom handle and bite the human who’s trying to fight him off.

Whenever the deadly spider is angry, it hops on it’s back legs and reveals his distinctive red jaws as a threat signal towards possible aggressors. The Phoneutria genus includes 8 documented species, and all are equally lethal. They’re called wandering spiders due to the fact that instead of lurking in a lair or taking care of a web, this poisonous villain roams the jungle floor in search of prey during the night, and hide in termite mounds or such other hide-aways during the day.

What happens if you get bitten?

Well… first step, pray you survive! The venom of the wandering spider contains high levels of seritonin, making it 18 times more deadly than the black widow. Once injected, the poison causes tremors and pain throughout the entire body. As if the pain itself weren’t enough, the venom also has an awkward and embarrassing side-effect on men: the chemicals stimulate the brain inducing a persistent lifting of the male reproductive organ, which is extremely painful, and often, victims who survive, never escape this side-effect.

So now that we’ve taken a look at the world’s most poisonous spider, don’t you wanna know who were the runner ups?

Here’s list of the top 9 most poisonous spiders in the world, after the Brazilian Wandering Spider.

1. The Yellow Sac Spider

Do you think this little critter looks adorable? Well think again… It may be the least venomous spider in this list, but nevertheless, if you get bit by this guy, you’ll most likely end up with necrosis and dead tissues.

This is just a mild bite by the Yellow Sac Spider but it could be a lot worse

2. Fringed Ornamental Tarantula

Although tarantulas are commonly used as exotic pets, this breed is quite dangerous, and they have even been known to induce comas with their bite. They are 18 cm long, and unlike other tarantulas if you get bitten by such a spider, you might end up in the emergency room.

3. The Chinese Bird Spider

This spider is also a tarantula and a pretty dangerous one for that matter. It’s also known as the Earth Tiger, due to its enormous size: it has a leg span of of up to 8 inches (20 cm). Even a small dose of its venom can bring down a small mammal in a matter of seconds. A shot of 0.70mg/kg is enough to cause death to its victim so you most certainly do not wanna mess with this tarantula.

4. Mouse Spider

This amazing spider may look “friendly” but its bite is very severe. However, they have been known to give “dry” bites, which means they just bite without injecting venom, but when it does bite, it can be lethal for human beings. Luckily, their habitat is far from those of people, so just steer clear of them.

5. Brown and Chilean Recluse Spider

This spider is extremely dangerous and it’s venom has been known to cause necrosis at the bite zone and the potential for the wound to grow to 10 inches and become gangrenous sending the infection in the entire body.

6. Redback Spider

The redbacks are related to the Black Widow family, but they’re less poisonous, they have caused 14 deaths before an antivenom was developed and the symptoms of the bite also include swollen lymph nodes, migraines, fever, nausea and shaking.

7. Black Widow Spider

Now who hasn’t heard of the Black Widow? It’s one of the most poisonous spiders in the world, with bite effects that include: extended muscular spasms and even spinal or cerebral paralysis, but it rarely kills.

8. Sydney Funnel-Web

This spider is going to bite, run away, and then come back again for another bite. Before the antivenom for this bite was made, a child dies in under 15 minutes from the attack. All it takes is 0.16mg/kg of this little dude’s venom for someone to die.

9. Six-Eyed Sand Spider

And last but not least, here’s the sand spider who’s bite causes blood to coagulate inside your vessels leading to death. Luckily, the live in remote areas and face-to-spider encounters are rare.