In 1980, an antivenin was created and since then, no deaths were recorded anymore. Its potent venom contains antracotoxin, which is particularly death for primates, thus humans as well! What is more, the Funnel Web can often be found in swimming pools and trying to remove it from the water will definitely result in a bite. This spider is also very aggressive and will definitely attack, if provoked, sometimes biting its victim multiple times. This is because it lives in populated areas, namely within 100 km from Sydney. The Sydney Funnel Web is not only one of the most poisonous spiders in the world, but one of the most dangerous as well. Its venom is so deathly that sometimes even the antivenin won’t work and the most chances are that the victim will die. These combined features of toxicity and aggressivity allow us to name this spider the most dangerous in the world. The Brazilian wandering spider is not only the world’s most venomous spider -as ranked by Guinness World Records in 2010- but it is an aggressive one too. But urban legends never die – there's always someone who swears it happened to an unnamed "friend.This spider may be found (though I can’t imagine why someone would want to look for it!) in the tropical forests of South and Central America. No one has ever explained how they measured speed or jumping height, and of course no one has ever produced a specimen found eating human or camel flesh. One person offered to have his brother in Iraq send me a 30-cm specimen, but backed down when the brother claimed he couldn't get an export permit. But that doesn't oblige me to believe every tall tale I hear from someone who never, under any circumstances, can give the name of the person it happened to! If the source is an unnamed person ("my nephew," "someone who just returned from Iraq," "shepherds we spoke to," "a Marine," "an airman,"), that's not evidence! And why not? They deserve all the diversions they can get. I have the utmost respect for soldiers but I also know a few, and know that one of their favorite pastimes is sitting around spinning yarns. I have received (by email) a lot of abuse for doubting these stories – mainly from civilians who probably think it's unpatriotic to doubt the word of a soldier. Any ill effects could be prevented with disinfectant.) See this article for National Geographic's take on camel spider myths. They positively have no venom, and no way to inject it even if they did have it! (If they bite and manage to break the skin, the wound is likely to be infected, and such cases may have started some of the stories. ![]() ![]() Their anatomy and physiology are well known. The species in Iraq were studied in Iraq by British scientists during the 39 years (1919-58) the country was under British control. Some species can produce a barely audible stridulation (sounding like a buzz or hiss). When they run toward someone standing in the hot desert sun (or toward their camel or into their tent) they are seeking out shade to hide in. They lay their eggs in the soil, not in camels! They are predatory and do not feed off large animals like camels or humans. Any jumping ability they might have is nothing special. The maximum speed cited in scientific sources is ten miles per hour, and the only accurately measured speeds I could find were less than 1 mile per hour. This builds on a previous myth that spread during the Gulf War.
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