15 Terrifying Animals That Are Way Smaller Than You

Also called the Banana Spider, this terrifying creature earned the dubious record of ‘Most Venomous Spider’ by Guinness World Records. It’s bad enough that the venom contains neurotoxins that can shut down critical organs one by one.

But what makes it worse is that this venom also affects serotonin levels in humans, amplifying the pain many times over. So if you’re unlucky to be bitten by this spider, not only do you risk death, but it’s a slow and agonizing death as well. It’s also extra bad if you’re a man, because these bites are known to cause priapism, which gives men a painful erection that lasts for hours on end (in some cases, bite victims have to have a needle inserted to remove blood from their erections). Let that image sink in for a few minutes.

Now, all of this wouldn’t be so bad if this spider was reclusive or otherwise timid, but no; the Wandering Spider gets its name because it likes to move around and enjoys the same kinds of environments as humans, which increases the likelihood of human encounters with it. It’s also very aggressive, and isn’t likely to back down if cornered.

As if that still wasn’t enough, it gets its ‘Banana spider’ nickname from its penchant to be near banana farms, and there’s a famous case of one spider hitching a ride from Brazil to the UK, where someone found hatchlings on a banana.

Just imagine what would happen if they managed to reproduce just like in the movie Arachnophobia; the surreal Hollywood creation wouldn’t be so farfetched after all.