Article in today's news

[toolrick]

That is not a Phoneutria. And between, I get many Phoneutrias around and have never gotten bitten by one; not even from the ones I am keeping.
Sorry, but that whole story is just BS.

Ricardo

 

[Raikiri]

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/995/80001188.JPG


Cupiennius salei

Yeah, you're right! By the way coccinues doesn't live in Honduras..

 

[Comatose]

Looks like they corrected the mistake

Even if it was a BWS, it never ceases to amaze me how quickly people panic.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090320/ap_on_re_us/deadly_spider

 

[traxfish]

I gotta say.. when I saw this article online last night the first thing I thought when I saw the video of the spider they found was "Thats not wandering spider, that definitely a huntsman"..

Carapace is all wrong, eyes are all wrong, arboreal tendencies are all wrong..

I am glad they posted more articles correcting the mistake, and I am really disappointed to hear that the "animal facilities manager" flat out destroyed it, instead of keeping it or at least preserving it.

Also, I heard in another article I read that he said that he enjoys keeping scary creatures, and is thrilled to have this spider.
""I enjoy animals that are scary, animals that scare people," he said. "I'm weird like that.""
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/arti...ticleid=20090319_11_A9_Whatmi278315&rss_lnk=1

"He said transporting the spider to another university for study would be difficult and that not much can be determined from one spider. "
Sorry, but that's BS.

It sounds like he was intentionally over-hyping it for attention and destroyed it when the experts became interested.

Its interesting how Fox news also added how this spider's bite can cause priapism.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509876,00.html

Also, the photo of the BWS in threat display used by Yahoo was taken from a flickr user, apparently without his knowledge or consent.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/techuser/2158857410/

 

[buthus]

"This particular one happens to be one of the most aggressive ones I've actually come across. This thing will actually jump at you," said Terry Littlechild.


Lucky cause the entire store full of people could have been slain by the monster! Scary stuff.. journalism conjures up.

 

[ErikWestblom]

Also, the photo of the BWS in threat display used by Yahoo was taken from a flickr user, apparently without his knowlege or consent.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/techuser/2158857410/

Acually, Techuser is also a member of his forum.

 

[Venom]

I seen some stats on a site somewhere and in brazil apparantly only 10% of bite victims actually die. But it does add up to about 1100 deaths a year lol and thats just in Brazil. Ill try to find the site, I might of got a link off these boards somewhere.

Lol, where did you get those stats? They are waaay overblown!! There is no way on earth that any Phoneutria sp. ( or even all the genus combined ) is causing anywhere near that amount of mortality.

In any case, the spider found at the grocery market was a Cupiennius sp--not deadly at all.

Someone should contact Techuser...he may want to have some words with Yahoo News about the appropriation of his image.

 

[Kris-wIth-a-K]

So my question is are any of these spiders on the market today?? Not saying I would want one because I really don't feel like dying but they have "HOT" scorpions that are sold but what about spiders like this?

Kris

 

[UrbanJungles]

The University totally dropped the ball on this one...

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/arti...ticleid=20090320_11_A11_Atleft71651&rss_lnk=1

 

[jeroen]

I am glad they posted more articles correcting the mistake, and I am really disappointed to hear that the "animal facilities manager" flat out destroyed it, instead of keeping it or at least preserving it.

Also, I heard in another article I read that he said that he enjoys keeping scary creatures, and is thrilled to have this spider.
""I enjoy animals that are scary, animals that scare people," he said. "I'm weird like that.""
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/arti...ticleid=20090319_11_A9_Whatmi278315&rss_lnk=1

Childs' department is now home to a Brazilian Wandering Spider. It's being kept in a terrarium with a do not disturb sign. More people die from the spider's bite than any other spider in the world.

"Within minutes you will have breathing problems, you'll start to lose control of your muscles, you'll start to drool and within 20 to 25 minutes you'll probably collapse on the floor and die of asphyxiation," said Terry Childs.

"This particular one happens to be one of the most aggressive ones I've actually come across. This thing will actually jump at you," said Terry Childs.

Who is this clown anyway, making such bold and unfounded statements in the press?

This is such unprofessional conduct, especially considering it's coming from a university professional (and I use that term very loosely right now).

Seems to me that this Terry Childs character is more interested in seeing his name in print than providing actual and correct information.