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Sydney Funnel-Web Spider (Atrax robustus)
Medical importance
88Six Legs
Bug Bite · From the file on Sydney Funnel-Web Spider

Sydney funnel-web antivenom developed in 1981 has prevented every recorded death since — zero fatalities in 40+ years.

AgencyAustralian Reptile ParkVerified by sources
Read the full file on Sydney Funnel-Web Spider

More Medical importance bites

Asian Giant Hornet (Vespa mandarinia)
Medical importance
Six Legs86

30–50 people die annually from Asian giant hornet stings in Japan — most from systemic venom load, not anaphylaxis.

Asian Giant HornetVerified by sources
Common Bed Bug (Cimex lectularius)
Medical importance
Six Legs79

Despite their reputation, bed bugs do not transmit disease to humans — there is no documented case of pathogen transmission via bed bug bite.

Common Bed BugVerified by sources
Human Botfly (Dermatobia hominis)
Medical importance
Six Legs87

Despite the unsettling lifecycle, botfly larvae don't transmit disease. The infection is confined to one small site under the skin.

Human BotflyVerified by sources
Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria nigriventer)
Medical importance
Six Legs87

A peptide from wandering spider venom (PnTx2-6) is in clinical trials as a treatment for erectile dysfunction.

Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria nigriventer)
Medical importance
Six Legs87

Brazilian antivenom developed in 1925 has reduced wandering-spider bite mortality to under 0.5% of cases.

Deathstalker Scorpion (Leiurus quinquestriatus)
Medical importance
Six Legs87

Deathstalker venom contains chlorotoxin — a peptide so specific to brain-tumor cells that surgeons use it as a fluorescent 'tumor paint' during brain surgery.

Deathstalker ScorpionVerified by sources