Amazonian Wandering Spider

• Faced with a threat it does not flee: it rears up on its hind legs, raises the front pair and shows their reddish inner surface in an unmistakable warning posture.
• Its venom contains peptides being investigated as painkillers and for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.
• The genus frequently stows away in bunches of bananas, which has earned it the name of banana spider and led to unexpected discoveries in greengrocers on other continents.
• It builds no hunting web: it patrols the forest floor by night, hence the name wandering spider.
• Its defensive posture is distinctive: it raises its four front legs, shows its fangs and bristles its spines, turning to keep facing the threat. And it can jump more than thirty centimetres.
• The name banana spider comes from its habit of hiding among banana leaves, which has led it to travel in fruit shipments.
• Its venom contains the neurotoxin PhTx3, a calcium channel blocker, and causes severe pain, sweating, blurred vision and prolonged, painful erections. Deaths are rare.
• That side effect has proved useful: peptides from this venom are being investigated as treatments for erectile dysfunction, and also for chronic pain, glaucoma and Huntington's disease.

Skeleton type

Invertebrate - chitin exoskeleton (arachnid)

Habitat and environment

Understorey of the Amazon rainforest; it shelters among leaves and bromeliads

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoneutria_fera