I’m like most of you, I hate spiders, and I absolutely lose it whenever I look down or up and see these multi-legged, scurrying creatures within my zip code. I’m talking, grab the insect spray and flame thrower time here, folks! However, despite my fear of these infamous creepy, crawlies — I’ve lived with the knowledge that most of them can’t hurt you aside from the occasional itchy bump. But imagine coming into contact with a spider with the ability to rot your flesh with just one bite? Well, unfortunately, such a spider is no longer just the plot of bad sci-fi movies; they are authentic.
Scientists in Mexico just couldn’t mind their own business, so they went out and discovered the Loxoceles Tenochtitlan spider. A spider that’s known to possess a very powerful tissue melting venom that often results in necrosis lesions of the skin measuring up to 40 centimeters. Best of all, they are known to hang out in household furniture, like the couch or chair you’re probably sitting in right now. And the lesions may take up to several months to heal while leaving a permanent scar on the affected individual. Also, children who are bitten may experience more serious issues. The spider’s venom is capable of getting into the bloodstream and destroying red blood cells.
This spider is a part of the Violin spider species — which are often referred to as recluse spiders. The Loxoceles Tenochtitlan was initially confused with the Loxosceles Misteca, another species that also hails from Mexico, specifically the found in the states of Morelos and Guerrero, that was introduced into the Mexico valley.
However, this new-flesh destroying species was discovered and named by Alejandro Valdez-Mondragon, a biologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), along with his students Karen Solis, Mayra Cortez, Claudia Navarro, and Alma Juarez.
Valdez-Mondragon told local media:
“As it is very similar to the Loxosceles misteca, we thought that it had been introduced to this region by the shipping of ornamental plants, but when doing molecular biology studies of both species, we realised that they are completely different.”
The biologist says that Loxoceles spiders are likely to bite humans when they feel attacked. However, they have a habit of hiding between the gaps of all kinds of objects, furniture, and walls.
“We provide them with the temperature, humidity and food to establish themselves in our homes, which puts us at risk of having an accident with them, although they also perform an important ecological function when feeding on insects.”
Well, it looks like the beautiful country of Mexico now joins Australia as lovely places I’ll never visit.
Source: Honey Bee
