Man died from Tarantula bite

[Ryan Bridgman]

Actually, Brispofan31 is not entirely correct in the assertion that the Australian Red Back and Funnel Webs are the only arachnids with potentially fatal venom to humans (I myself have been bitten by a redback and it hurts I can tell you!!!).

The Brazilian Wandering Spider has a highly dangerous venom and is highly aggressive and there are several scorpion species (Deathstalker, Fat-tail) which have caused many fatalities in the Middle East. The Lady Namib spider of the Sahara has been linked with fatalities also.

In the USA the Black Widow spider can kill infants and the recluse spider has been linked with serious poisoning incidents.

 

[Professor T]

Originally posted by Ryan Bridgman
Actually, Brispofan31 is not entirely correct in the assertion that the Australian Red Back and Funnel Webs are the only arachnids with potentially fatal venom to humans (I myself have been bitten by a redback and it hurts I can tell you!!!).

The Brazilian Wandering Spider has a highly dangerous venom and is highly aggressive and there are several scorpion species (Deathstalker, Fat-tail) which have caused many fatalities in the Middle East. The Lady Namib spider of the Sahara has been linked with fatalities also.

In the USA the Black Widow spider can kill infants and the recluse spider has been linked with serious poisoning incidents.

Black Widows cause death in about 2-3 bites per 1,000. Their reputation is worse than their bite. The females don't even eat the males with as high frequency as the name would imply.

Brown recluse have a serious necrotoxic venom. I got bit by one which resulted in a nickel sized brown spot on my shin that took two months to heal, but did not spread. My son's friend's mother got bit on the thigh by a brown recluse and was hospitalized, including a section of tissue removed as it did spread. She missed a month of work. This is a non-aggressive spider that bites you when you roll on it in your sleep.

I did not realize the lady Namib spider was dangerously venomous to humans. I saw one trying to get away from a wasp in a video by rolling down a sand dune using its legs in a pinwheel fashion. It was one of the coolest things I ever saw. It didn't work however, the wasp caught up and killed it. Stung it, drank moisture from its mouth, dug a hole, layed its eggs on it...you know the rest.

 

[Kumalo]

Hi,

There was a University study done a few years ago that showed that tarantula venom has evolved to be rodent specific

Just for information:

Toxicon. 2003 Mar;41(4):519-24. Related Articles, Links


Bites by spiders of the family Theraphosidae in humans and canines.

Isbister GK, Seymour JE, Gray MR, Raven RJ.

Discipline of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Newcastle, Waratah, NSW 2298, Australia. gsbite@bigpond.com

Spiders of the family Theraphosidae occur throughout most tropical regions of the world. There have only been three case reports of bites by these spiders in Australia. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical effects of bites by Australian theraphosid spiders in both humans and canines. Cases of spider bite were collected by the authors over the period January 1978-April 2002, either prospectively in a large study of Australian spider bites, or retrospectively from cases reported to the authors. Subjects were included if they had a definite bite and had collected the spider. The spiders were identified by an expert arachnologist to genus and species level where possible. There were nine confirmed bites by spiders of the family Theraphosidae in humans and seven in canines. These included bites by two Selenocosmia spp. and by two Phlogiellus spp. The nine spider bites in humans did not cause major effects. Local pain was the commonest effect, with severe pain in four of seven cases where severity of pain was recorded. Puncture marks or bleeding were the next most common effect. In one case the spider had bitten through the patient's fingernail. Mild systemic effects occurred in one of nine cases. There were seven bites in dogs (Phlogellius spp. and Selenocosmia spp.), and in two of these the owner was bitten after the dog. In all seven cases the dog died, and as rapidly as 0.5-2h after the bite. This small series of bites by Australian theraphosid spiders gives an indication of the spectrum of toxicity of these spiders in humans. Bites by these spiders are unlikely to cause major problems in humans. The study also demonstrates that the venom is far more toxic to canines.


So the venom not only seems to be rodent specific


Greetings,
Philipp

 

[Steve Nunn]

Originally posted by Kumalo

So the venom not only seems to be rodent specific

Hi Philipp,
Geez, I could of used that reference in the other thread here about dangers to dogs regarding theraphosid bites

Just because the venom can kill a cat or dog in half an hour does not mean it hasn't evolved to become rodent specific (although I'd question that study anyway ), but rather that the lethal effect on a cat or dog is a toxicologic fluke, exactly the same reason that funnel webs are lethal to man.

Thankyou for providing that info too,
Steve

 

[Code Monkey]

Originally posted by Professor T
Black Widows cause death in about 2-3 bites per 1,000. Their reputation is worse than their bite. The females don't even eat the males with as high frequency as the name would imply.

I'd say it more like "the females don't eat the males at all except in rare occurences of mistaken identity". The original behavioral studies were carried out in small containers where the male couldn't leave the female's web and, surprise surprise, if you left him in there for a few days she wound up eating him. In subsequent studies where the male could leave and in what field observations have been made the male almost always gets to leave to try his luck again.

The only widow spider that deserves the name 'widow' is the Australian redback spider which has evolved a very extreme version of the nuptial gift used in many arthropod courtship rituals. The male of this species actually allows the female to feed on his abdomen while he makes the insertion, he sometimes gets to leave, but he's still badly injured and doesn't make it long.

Incidentally, do you happen to have a citation for that 2-3 deaths per 1000? The only 3 citations I've been able to find (I'm writing up the fact sheet on widow spiders for my university) put it at:
>> much less than 1%
>> your chances of dying *if bitten* are about the same as being struck by lighthning
>> in general, your chances of being bitten and dying are about the same as dying from a meteor strike (Spider Bob Breene there )

 

[wsimms]

Originally posted by Code Monkey

Incidentally, do you happen to have a citation for that 2-3 deaths per 1000? The only 3 citations I've been able to find (I'm writing up the fact sheet on widow spiders for my university) put it at:
>> much less than 1%
>> your chances of dying *if bitten* are about the same as being struck by lighthning
>> in general, your chances of being bitten and dying are about the same as dying from a meteor strike (Spider Bob Breene there )

You may already have these...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12391384&dopt=Abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=Pager&DB=PubMed

and this one is irrelevant but interesting...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...ve&db=PubMed&list_uids=12495200&dopt=Abstract

W

 

[Professor T]

Originally posted by Code Monkey
.

The only widow spider that deserves the name 'widow' is the Australian redback spider which has evolved a very extreme version of the nuptial gift used in many arthropod courtship rituals. The male of this species actually allows the female to feed on his abdomen while he makes the insertion, he sometimes gets to leave, but he's still badly injured and doesn't make it long.

Incidentally, do you happen to have a citation for that 2-3 deaths per 1000? The only 3 citations I've been able to find (I'm writing up the fact sheet on widow spiders for my university) put it at:
>> much less than 1%
>> your chances of dying *if bitten* are about the same as being struck by lighthning
>> in general, your chances of being bitten and dying are about the same as dying from a meteor strike (Spider Bob Breene there )

Code Monkey,

The Australian redback spider is a classic example of sociobiology's selfish gene hypothesis...animals acting in ways to improve their own inclusive fitness. The male redback has a short lifecycle anyway, so he does a somersault to dangle his abdomen in front of her fangs. As she is devouring him, he spends more time inserting his sperm, and therefore increases his chances of getting his genes into the gene pool. Selfish genes at work. The concept that the genes are immortal (important), and the individual is of little importance in the big scheme of things. I read about this in an article titled "Sex as Suicide".

As for the black widow bite, 2 or 3 per thousand is 0.2-0.3%, so it is much less than 1%, however I think you were saying you heard even less than that. I'm pretty sure I have the article at school, and I will dig it up for you, and let you know the source.

 

[Professor T]

Code Monkey- Black Widow Info

Integrated Principles of Zoology, Hickman, 11th edition, page 382, I was a lttle off, here is the quote:

"Their (Black Widow) venom is neurotoxic, about four or five of each 1000 bites reported have proved fatal."

Thats between 0.4 - 0.5%