Arachnids

            Arachnids are the third most diverse class of arthropods and have the second highest diversity of terrestrial species.  The total number of arachnid species around the world is approximately 93.000 (Coddington, 2001).  It is unclear how many of those species are in the Amazon rainforest.  Arachnids are a class that includes mites, ticks, spiders, and scorpions among others.  They occupy the roles of herbivore, ectoparasite, carnivore, and detritivore.  There are a few species of arachnid that I find especially important and I have highlighted them here,

Goliath Bird Eating Spider

            The Goliath bird eating spider (Theraphosa blondi) is the world’s largest species of arachnid and can measure 11 inches long (Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute).  These spiders are rumored to have a deadly venom, however that is only a rumor and in fact they have recently began to sell them in pet stores.

Brazilian Wandering Spiders

            The Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria nigriventer) is the world’s most venomous spider.  They are known to hide in banana bunches in banana trees and are a hazard for banana harvesters.  They have been rumored to be in banana bunches in super markets but these rumors are unfounded.

Brazilian Yellow Scorpion

            It is commonly believed at all scorpions are deadly, and this belief is totally wrong.  In fact the vast majority of scorpion species are not deadly.  In the Amazon rainforest there are two species of potentially deadly scorpion the Brazilian Yellow Scorpion (Tityus serrulatus) and the Amazonian black scorpion (Tityus obscurus).  The Brazilian Yellow Scorpion is the more venomous of the two at envenomations from those scorpions are less than 2% deadly (Horta, 2014).

References:

Coddington, Jonathan A. Colwell, Robert K. (2001) Arachnids Encyclopedia of Biodiversity

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/arachnid

Goliath bird eating tarantula Smithsonian National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/goliath-bird-eating-tarantula#:~:text=The%20Goliath%20bird%2Deating%20tarantula,11%20inches%20(28%20centimeters).

Horta, Carolina Campolina Rebello. Magalhaes, Barbara de Freitas. Oliveira-Mendes, Barbara Bruna Ribeiro. Carmo, Anderson Oliveira de. Duarte, Clara Guerra. Felicori, Liza Figueiredo. Machado-de-Avila, Richardo Andrez. Kalapothakis, Evanguedes. (February 13, 2014) Molecular, Immunological, and Biological Characterization of Tityus serrulatus Venom Hyaluronidase: New Insights into Its Role in Envenomation Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3923731/