3. Introduction :
• Phoneutria, commonly known as Brazilian wandering
spiders, armed spiders ("armadeiras", as they are known
in Brazilian ), are a genus of aggressive and venomous
spiders of potential medical significance to humans.
• Wandering spiders are so-called because they wander the
jungle floor at night, rather than residing in a lair or
maintaining a web. During the day they hide inside
termite mounds, under fallen logs and rocks.
• The Brazilian wandering spiders appear in Guinness
World Records from 2010 as the world's most venomous
spider.
5. Characteristic
• The genus Phoneutria (Ancient Greek for
"murderess") contains eight scientifically described
species , the most notorious being P. fera and
P. nigriventer.
• The spiders in the genus can grow to have a leg
span of 13 to 15 cm , Their body length ranges
from 17 to 48 mm.
• the largest Phoneutria species have the longest
body and the greatest body weight in this group.
7. Characteristic
They have eight eyes, two of which are large.
Brazilian wandering spiders are fast-moving
spiders, their legs are strong and spiny and they
have distinctive red jaws which they display when
angered.
9. Characteristic
• The presence of a dark linear stripe or stripes on
the frontal (dorsal) palps and presence of a single
thin black line running anterior-posterior along the
dorsal carapace may help identify Phoneutria.
• Other features are the strong ventral marking on
the underside of the legs with contrasting dark mid-
segments and lighter joints, and the pattern on the
ventral (underside) of the abdomen with several
rows of black dots, or an overall reddish colour..
11. Defensive posture
• The characteristic defensive posture with frontal
legs held high is an especially good indicator to
confirm a specimen is Phoneutria,
• specially alongside correct colour patterns. During
the defensive display the body is lifted up into an
erect position, the first two pairs of legs are lifted
high (revealing the conspicuous black/light-banded
pattern on the leg underside), while the spider
sways from side to side with hind legs in a cocked
position.
13. Habitat
• Phoneutria are found in forests from
Costa Rica, and throughout South
America east of the Andes into
northern Argentina, including
Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas,
Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and
Paraguay. Phoneutria fera lives in the
middle of the Amazon rainforest,
nowhere near the Brazilian banana
fields. In fact, Brazil exports very
few bananas
14. Diet
• Adult Brazilian Wandering spiders eat crickets,
other large insects, small lizards and mice. Spider
lings of this species eat flightless fruit flies and
pinhead crickets.
15. Male and female
• Mature male spiders have swollen bulbs on the end of
their palps for mating purpose and this is a useful way
to identify whether the spider is male or female.
16. Reproduction & life cycle
• Brazilian Wandering spiders reproduce by means of
eggs, which are packed into silk bundles called egg
sacs. The male spider must (in most cases) make a
timely departure after mating to escape before the
females normal predatory instincts return.
17. • Once the sperm is inside the female spider, she stores
it in a chamber and only uses it during the egg-laying
process, The Brazilian Wandering spider's life cycle is
1 – 2 years.
• they mates during the dry season from April to June,
which leads to frequent observations of the species
during this time
Reproduction & life cycle
19. Medical Importance
• Bites from the Brazilian Wandering spider may result
in only a couple of painful pinpricks to full-blown
envenomed. In either case, people bitten by this
spider should seek immediate emergency treatment as
the venom is possibly life threatening.
• It produces 1.069 mg of venom a day and it takes just
a fraction of that amount to kill a human.
20. Medical Importance
• Brazilian wandering spiders' venom is a complex
cocktail of toxins, proteins and peptides. The venom
affects ion channels and chemical receptors in
victims' neuromuscular systems. Phoneutria fera
being the most venomous. Venomous cause a
progression of intense pain, inflammation, loss of
muscle control, breathing problems, paralysis and
asphyxiation.
• If the venom doesn’t kill you, the looks can certainly
be paralyzing.
