Sicarius tropicus
Species of spider
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sicarius tropicus is a species of six-eyed sand spider (Sicarius) endemic in South American caatinga in Brazil.[1] Like related spiders, it is venomous, but only one medically-significant bite has been recorded, causing dermonecrotic lesions in a 17-year-old boy.[2]
| Sicarius tropicus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Sicariidae |
| Genus: | Sicarius |
| Species: | S. tropicus |
| Binomial name | |
| Sicarius tropicus (Mello-Leitao, 1936) | |
Venom
A 2021 study compared the venom with that of Loxosceles laeta, considered the most toxic species in the genus. The venom of S. tropicus contains Sphingomyelinase D, capable of causing dependent hemolysis; the hemolysis mechanisms were found to differ between the two species.[3]