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| Photo by João P. Burini (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons |
One of the deadliest arachnids in the world is the Brazilian wandering spider (Phoneutria fera), so named because it wanders from place to place instead of building a web or digging a burrow. Its venom is eighteen times more toxic than that of the black widow. The spider is often found in houses, is extremely aggressive, and can jump large distances.
Male human victims, if they survive the neurotoxin from the attack, are often afflicted with a persistently painful plus potentially permanent priapism. The venom is being investigated as an alternative to Viagra®.
Spiders have to have fangs in order to puncture through the tough chitin exoskeleton of insects. The Brazilian wandering spider has refined exoskeleton puncturing to an ultimate degree. Specifically, its fangs are interspersed with and hardened by copper, iron, magnesium, and zinc atoms. The older the spider, the higher the metal content. The tips of the fangs, where the main action takes place, are almost pure metal.
In the event that you do not live in South America and are thus complacent because these spiders are nowhere near you, don't be. These guys are often called "banana spiders" because of their proclivity for hiding in bunches of bananas. They are, as a result, sometimes unknowingly imported with the fruit where they could then pop up at your local supermarket or kitchen counter.
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