Hey bushy, im no expert on australian foresty but,
that wattle looks suspiciously like a stretchy thai just going into flower, or something along those lines :O,
Very interesting indeed
Peace.
Spider hoax
July 2010
Spider hoax clogs inboxes Australia-wide
This month the Queensland Museum Inbox has been flooded with inquiries concerning a supposedly very dangerous spider, whose bite is believed to cause severe necrosis of the flesh. The email claims it is a new Huntsman-like spider recently arrived to Eastern Australia, is heading for Western Australia, and is breeding at an alarming rate. So, is this story true?
Answer
No. While the image is of a real spider, the Brown Recluse Spider (Loxosceles reclusa), the story is false. A few points from our Senior Curator of Arachnology:
- this series of photos have been around for years, originating in the US and having nothing to do with Australia
- the spider does not cause the wound
- our native White-tailed Spiders (Lampona spp.) have also been erroneously blamed for the development of a similar lesion
- no Australian spider is know to have necrotic (tissue-destroying) venom
- the causes of these wounds are diverse and not related to spiders
- although the spider does occur in Australia, it only lives in a very restricted suburban area in a southern Australian State, has been here for approximately 20 years, has not extended its range, and no bites have been recorded from it
To access more information about Loxosceles envenomations, see the following freely available journal paper:
Vetter, R.S. (2008). Spiders of the genus Loxosceles (Araneae, Sicariidae): a review of biological, medical and psychological aspects regarding envenomations. The Journal of Arachnology 36:150–163 http://www.americanarachnology.org/JoA_free/JoA_v36_n1/arac-36-1-150.pdf
Some commentators have suggested that the Australian version of the warning may refer to Australia's White-tailed Spider. The White-tailed Spider is a creature that, like the Brown Recluse in the US, has been the subject of many reports regarding the severity of necrotic wounds caused by its bite. However, these reports are largely unsubstantiated. A fact sheet on the Australian Museum website notes:
White-tailed Spider bites can cause initial burning pain followed by swelling and itchiness at the bitten area. Occasionally, weals, blistering or local ulceration have been reported - conditions known medically as necrotising arachnidism. As well as the spider's venom, minor bacterial infection of the wound may be a contributory factor in such cases.
A debate continues about the involvement of White-tailed Spider bite in cases of severe ulcerative skin lesions seen in patients diagnosed as probable spider bite victims. Typically, in such cases no direct evidence of spider bite is available. Sensational media reporting of supposed cases of severe "necrotising arachnidism" has given the White-tailed Spider a bad reputation. However, a recent study has monitored the medical outcomes of over 100 verified White-tailed Spider bites and found not a single case of ulceration (confirming the results of an earlier study). The available evidence suggests that skin ulceration is not a common outcome of White-tailed Spider bite.
Love the daintree. Went there for the first time as a 6 year old. So many crocodiles, and its when i first got addicted to mud crabs.
You prob wont believe this but. I know a guy who swam across the mouth of the Daintree river. After making it to the other side the idiot realised he had to swim back. He survived (how i dont know) maybe the crocs were not hungry that day.