UNDER CONSTRUCTION - Brazilian Wandering Spiders (Phoneutria fera) are aggressive, hairy, nocturnal spiders from the Ctenidae spider group. These nomadic spiders grow to be upwards of 4-5 inches in size (18-20 cm, including its legs). Unlike most spiders, Brazilian Wandering Spiders do not build nests or webs, therefore the earning of their wandering name. In 2007, the Guinness Book of World Records wrote the spiders venom up as the most deadly on earth. [1]
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Introduction: the Brazilian Wandering Spider
Unlike other spiders that spin webs or hide in small crevices readying to spring on their prey from the safety of its lair, the wandering spider is always on the move, only resorting to settling down in one place long enough to get temporary rest and move on again on to the forest floor or near the edge of a body of water.
The wandering spider is also known as the banana spider, due to its penchant to seek solace in the shadow of banana bunches. That is where they often come in contact with humans and other mammals. Its territory exists between Mexico, Central and South America, but its tendency to hide in obscured, dark areas has had it shown up as far off base as the United States and the UK via banana shipments.Variations of Wandering Spiders
The Wandering Spider is part of the Phoneutria species (Phoneutria meaning murderess in Greek), has [2]eight varieties.
But before eight groups were recognized, in the book Phoneutria written by Perty in 1833, five types of spiders in this grouping were noted previously by Perty. When Perty's book was revised by Simo & Brescovit in 2001. the following variations on the species were included:
- P. fera (Perty, 1833),
- P. nigriventer (Keyserling, 1891),
- P. boliviensis (F.O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897),
- P. reidyi (F.O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897) and the new species
- P. bahiensis (Simó & Brescovit, 2001). In their work they offer a key to the species. They synonymized
- P. keyserlingi (F.O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897) and
- P. pertyi (F.O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897) with
- P. nigriventer (Keyserling) and
- P. depilata (Strand) with
- P. boliviensis (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge).
Wandering Spiders of the Amazon
- Amazonian Ctenidae[ - Also known as the tropical wolf spider, spends most of its time in the rain forest, though they are among the most populace among the wandering spider varieties. Lesser known Brazilian Wandering Spiders of this grouping include Acanthoctenus, Astheno Ctenus, Centroctenus, Enoploctenus, Gephyrostegus and Cupiennius. [1].
- Ancylometes - The largest of the wandering spider varieties, the genus ancylometes spends its time on riverbanks and other rainforest bodies of water. At night, these spiders, like their wandering relatives, head for the forest floor where, when not eating bugs, frogs and fish in the estuaries, they tend to gather to hunt and mate.[3]
- Ctenus - Is smaller than both Phoneutria and Ancylometes as adults. Because of this, Ctenus has a harder existence than the other spiders of this ganus. They also do not hide under leaves or rocks or in water, as do the other spiders in this group. Instead, ctenus limit their time to the rainforest floor. So what keeps this spider from becoming extinct? Scientists are not fully sure, but it seems that this version of the species has an extra strong ability to detect the scent of predatory animals better than most other spiders. [4].
- Cupiennius - Out of all the wandering spider genotypes, the cupiennius, also known as the banana spider (for its tendency to seek out and hide in banana crops) is the most common of the wandering spiders, and can be found from Mexico to the upper sections of South America. [5]
- Phoneutria - In writings about Brazilian Wandering Spiders, the phoneutria is considered the most aggressive, dangerous and deadly of the spiders mentioned, and is the largest true spider in the world. It is considered the most deadly, many think, because of its sheer size and tendency to be hostile.
Life of the Wandering Spider
All wandering spiders spend their days hiding and their nights seeking out, killing and ingesting prey, not reposing in a lair or building and maintaining a web as many other spiders do.
