arachnophobia is one of the most common fears it's experienced by millions of people all around the world and with 45 000 different known spider species there's plenty to be afraid of today we'll be taking a look at the top 15 most scary spider species in the world
number 15 mouse spider of the 21 species of mouse spider which were so named because they were originally believed to have dug deep burrows one is native to chile and the rest are found across australia growing up to 1.2 inches across they're identifiable by their surprisingly shiny upper sections along with wide heads spread out eyes and often vivid colors rather than spinning webs mouse spiders live in burrows that are up to 12 inches deep and will scour the surrounding area in search of prey typically hunting insects and other small animals they are highly aggressive spiders that will pounce to deliver a venomous bite and then once their target has been incapacitated they will drag them back to their borough for consumption fortunately mouse spiders aren't considered dangerous to humans as they aren't able to inject enough venom to cause potentially lethal consequences but this doesn't mean a bite will be pain-free in fact their bites are considered to be one of the most painful of any type of spider and you'll definitely be aware of it for several hours after it happened they rarely bite humans though because they try to keep their venom for uses solely on potential prey this means you're only at risk of being attacked if they feel that they've been backed into a corner and it's their only means of escape
number 14 poger faced spider while they may not be dangerous to humans ogre face spiders are certainly one of the strangest looking species if you ever unexpectedly find one looking back at you it'll almost certainly make you jump back in fright they're a type of net casting spider that rather than spinning large webs to capture prey instead have stick like elongated legs and weave a series of flexible silk strands between their two front legs these webs can be stretched up to three times the size of their relaxed state and when the spider sees a target it leaps forward and entangles it before it has a chance to escape spiders like these can be found throughout the tropical regions of the world in australia africa and the americas and rely hugely on their eyesight for hunting this is made more difficult by the fact that they're mainly nocturnal animals and this is why they develop such large eyes that on occasion make them look like ogres one of the more surprising things about their eyes is that they're more sensitive than those of cats and owls and each night a brand new light-sensitive membrane is produced within them it's so effective at detecting light that the next morning when the sun rises it's burnt away and essentially leaves the spiders completely blind until it's dark again
number 13 goliath bird eater native to the jungle floors of south america a goliath bird eater is the largest species of spider in the world when judged by mass and body size a type of tarantula they can grow a body length of up to 5.1 inches with a leg span of up to 12 inches that may weigh as much as 6.2 ounces despite their name they've only been seen to eat birds on rare occasions and instead prefer to prey on worms amphibians insects and other spiders they are though an opportunistic species that roam relatively vast distances each day and will take their chance with anything they feel they'll be able to overpower equipped with fangs that can be as long as 1.6 inches they bite into their prey and deliver a deadly dose of venom before dragging the victim back to their burrow it's there that the toxins will do their work by liquefying the prey's insides and the spider simply sucks the liquid out these fangs can easily pierce human skin too but the venom isn't as powerful as some others meaning it's been described as similar to being stung by a wasp their urticating hairs which are on their abdomens are what you really need to watch out for as they can be released into the air and may prove to be harmful especially if you were ever to breathe them into your lungs
number 12 australian funnel web spider there are 35 known species of funnel web spider each of which are native to australia and at least six of which are considered to possess venom that's medically significant to humans with bodies that can grow as large as two inches their front parts are completely hairless and you'll usually be able to see their large fangs that point straight downwards rather than towards each other if they decide to bite a person these are big and powerful enough to pierce through a fingernail or a soft shoe and so would almost certainly give the spider the opportunity to deliver a dose of their potent venom fortunately instances of them biting people are extremely rare and anti-venoms now exist that can treat such an injury but certain species do have a tendency to live close by to human structures which increase the chances of an encounter they like digging their burrows in moist cool and sheltered habitats which means shrubberies and rockeries and backyards are ideal for them and they're also attracted to water so are often found in swimming pools if you ever see one floating be cautious they can survive submerged for several hours and can still deliver a bite as soon as they've been removed
number 11 wolf spider with almost 3 000 known species wolf spiders are found virtually everywhere on the planet apart from the most isolated locations or those that are covered in ice some do have venom that can be painful if injected with a bite but it's more the way they look and their behavior that ups their scare factor growing bodies that measure as much as 1.4 inches across there's solitary creatures that don't spin webs and tend to patrol the areas around their small boroughs they are highly opportunistic and aggressive which means they'll strike at anything that's small enough for them to subdue and drag back to their borough and as a result have one of the most varied diets of any spiders frequently found in homes because of the warmth in cars and on boats wolf spiders have a startling appearance with two main large eyes at the front of their heads but it's the females that can be the most terrifying that's because instead of leaving their eggs in the burrows or on a web they actually carry the sack around with them wherever they go and once they've hatched the spiderlings will remain clinging onto their mother for several weeks before venturing off on their own this means if you ever see a wolf spider you could potentially be looking at several hundred of them that are ready to scatter at any moment
number 10 yellow sack spider yellow sac spiders are found across the globe with as many as 212 distinct species having so far been recorded and while they tend to be small and aren't particularly dangerous they can be quite scary when you discover a cluster of them inside your home usually growing to no more than .4 inches in size they are much paler in color than you'd normally expect a spider to be and have large abdomens that take on a bolder yellow or beige hue they look noticeably different to other spiders that often live in homes too and these ones can if startled be painful if they decide to bite despite being so minuscule their venom has the potential to cause swelling severe pain and lesions in humans but one of the biggest risks posed by yellow sac spiders is the fact that they are for some reason attracted to the smell of certain volatiles that are released by gasoline in the past decade this actually led to the recall of mazda 6 sedans that were built between 2010 and 2012 because an element of their design meant that the spiders were able to crawl into the canister vent and weave webs this caused blockages and a buildup of pressure that in serious cases could result in fuel leakages and an increased chance of fires but the manufacturer now installing software that's able to alert owners of any developing problems before they've reached a critical point
number nine huntsman spider native to tropical regions around the world there are at least a thousand known species of huntsman spider one of which the giant huntsman is the largest spider in terms of leg span of all with eight eyes arranged in two forward-facing rows of four and able to grow as large as 11.8 inches across they're often confused for tarantulas but are a distinctly separate family of spiders they usually grow brown or gray in color and you may see reddish tones around their mouth and black or white markings on their undersides and they'll often have noticeable spines on their legs they use the natural environment for shelter so will often hide beneath rocks and fallen branches but they may also use objects around the quieter parts of homes as their layers too they're also known for their quick speed and in some cases unusual way of moving around such as the wheel spider in the name desert that uses a cartwheeling motion and while the main risk from them is their size and the potential to startle people who unexpectedly encounter one they do also possess venom that can be painful and problematic if injected in large enough doses it's normally only when they feel they or their eggs are in danger that they'll actively attack a human though so if you move slowly around one you should be able to avoid any harm
number eight brown recluse spider native solely to a region of the united states throughout texas georgia kentucky and the surrounding states the brown recluse spider is definitely a species to be wary of they may not look as threatening as others but their venom packs a punch i could well see you needing to seek medical attention they grow to just under an inch across but on occasions can be larger and are normally a light brown color although this too can vary from white to dark gray one of their defining features that helps to identify them though is a marking on their backs that almost looks like a violin and is why they're also known locally as fiddleback spiders they build and live on haphazard webs often in woodlands but also in sheds garages cellars and other undisturbed places due to their size their preferred prey is mainly small insects and they'll normally try to run away if anything larger comes along they will however try to defend themselves if they feel under threat and it's at times like this that they'll lash out with their bite normally this will simply be painful enough to make an aggressor back off but if the spider happens to inject a larger dose of toxin through your skin you could suffer from skin necrosis deep scarring and severe pain it's unlikely to be deadly but would be extremely unpleasant for several days afterwards
number seven fishing spider spiders are very well adapted to the environments where they live and while you may think you're safe from coming face to face with one when you're in water this couldn't be further from the truth around the world there are at least a hundred species of fishing spider which are also known as raft spiders and they're found on every continent where there's free-flowing water normally quite large with potential leg spans of up to 3.1 inches their bodies are covered in short velvety hairs that are hydrophobic these allow the spiders to use the surface tension of the water to walk or run across as if it were solid ground the surface of the water actually acts in the same way as a web does for other species because by lying flat on it fishing spiders can detect slight vibrations and use them to locate potential prey they hunt small flies other insects and some small fish and usually do so at night to avoid the risk of being hunted themselves by birds they don't pose any actual risk to humans at all but it can be quite a frightening experience seeing one of these scamper across a swimming pool when you're taking a relaxing dip
number six brown widow the brown widow which is thought to have originated in south america but can be found worldwide is one of the species of widow spiders and are closely related to black widows usually a light brown color with an orange or yellow hourglass marking on the undersides of their abdomens their bodies typically grow to a length of around half an inch like their relatives these spiders have a neurotoxic venom that can cause severe pain swelling and muscle stiffness and may even lead to death in some instances if problematic symptoms aren't treated they aren't however able to deliver as much toxin in a bite as a black widow so are generally regarded as being a less dangerous species what's interesting about this is that they're far more aggressive when they live in an area where black widows are present they're believed to take over and eliminate their cousins this means that while you should definitely be wary of brown widows and the danger they pose it's probably a good sign if you see one because the chances of coming across a more deadly black widow are much reduced
number five golden silk orb weaver there are 10 known species of golden silk orb weaver spiders which are found in australia asia africa and the americas where they like to live in environments that are moist and full of vegetation this provides the perfect surroundings for them to build their webs and produce offspring and if you ever encounter one you'll notice they're very different to how you'd normally expect a spider to be the first unusual thing about them is that as the name would suggest the webs they spin have a slight golden color instead of appearing to be white which happens because of the presence of carotenoids in their silk rather than purely being an aesthetic choice this is a form of camouflage because the spiders spend virtually their entire lives on their webs normally this would mean they're at much higher risk of predation but the properties of their webs make them glimmer in the sunlight and makes the spider much harder to see growing up to five inches across reddish greenish or yellow spiders can be formidable animals to encounter and they will eat anything that gets trapped in their webs even if the food is much larger than themselves luckily their venom isn't anywhere near powerful enough to harm a human but you'd surely get a shock if you walked face first into one of their webs especially if you aren't entirely sure where this spider itself is waiting
number 4 tiger spider the tiger spider is a species that's native to chile and other nearby countries and like its feline namesake is known for its heightened aggression and predatory nature and as being the only known hunter of the common and dangerous chilean recluse spider known to grow a leg span as much as three inches across they have relatively small bodies and are quite often found in dark recesses and homes across south america they eat insects other spiders and virtually anything else that's a manageable size for them and won't ever attack anything that's more than twice their size meaning humans are completely safe the reason for this is because of their unique hunting method though and if you see this in action even knowing it won't be turned on you it'll probably still make you run a mile instead of biting with fangs and injecting venom to begin with tiger spiders are able to squirt a sticky web from their abdomens that incapacitate their target before moving in for the kill this is why they're also known as spitting spiders and it is incredible to see if not a little frightening too
number three trapdoor spider the name trapdoor spider is given to various different species that while they belong to different classifications have developed similar techniques and how they build their burrows and capture prey found in regions across the globe they are ground-dwelling spiders that can in some instances grow up to six inches across and they spend the majority of their time hiding underground unlike other spiders that dig burrows though they attach lids at the top of theirs so that from the outside it's hardly noticeable that there's a hole there at all different species have been known to use a range of materials to do this such as bamboo coconut or twigs and they normally have a silk hinge that allows them to be opened around the outside of the burrow trap door spiders lay silk threads that are all connected to a strand that runs inside and the moment that something passes close by the spider is alerted it can then pounce out of the hole grab a hold of the target and pull it back into the burrow and close the door in an instant which gives the prey very little chance to fight back or escape
number two camel spider while they're not technically spiders or scorpions the thousand are known species of solifugai which are commonly called camel spiders or wind scorpions are some of the creepiest things you'll ever see with eight legs they're closely related to spiders with the main difference being that they're not able to produce silk and are usually found in hot deserts around the world with the only continents devoid of any species being australia and antarctica each species has its unique traits but the largest camel spiders can grow to around 6 inches long and while it may seem as if they have 10 legs the two at the front are classed as pedophiles that don't touch the ground when they're walking but are used for feeding and fighting there are carnivorous and omnivorous species of camel spider and they're relatively fast for creatures like this with a top speed of up to 10 miles per hour across flat land they don't have venom like many spiders but they're highly aggressive creatures known to prey on insects like termites beetles and even lizards birds and rodents once they find a meal they use their mouth parts to cut the victim into tiny pieces before liquefying the remains and drinking them through the pharynx and while they never see a human as a potential target there have been a number of instances where they've bitten a person something that's said to be pretty painful
number one red back spider australia is known for the number of dangerous animal species that live there and it seems fitting that that's where you'll find what's often claimed to be the deadliest spider of all known as the red back it's a type of widow spider but far more dangerous than the closely related black and brown widows with a body length of about a half an inch they're identifiable by their spherical black body with a red stripe along the back and an hourglass shaped marking on the underside of the abdomen there are nocturnal species that build messy webs in warm sheltered locations and this means that quiet human structures are ideal for them their usual diet is made up of insects spiders and other small animals that get caught in their web and when this happens the red back will crawl up to it squirt it with a sticky web-like substance to prevent it from moving inject its highly potent venom with its two fangs and then wrap the prey in silk before sucking up the liquefied remains due to the way they often build their webs near human activity and the fact they'll aggressively defend themselves if they feel at risk redbacks are one of the most potentially problematic spider species for humans with bites often resulting in extreme pain nausea vomiting and hallucinations the red pack is said to have historically been responsible for more human envenomations that require treatment than any other animal in australia with as many as 10 000 people being thought to be bitten each year and while this sounds bad and will have been extremely unpleasant for all who are attacked there's a very good chance you'll survive in fact the most recent death associated with one happened in 2016 and there are only 15 confirmed deaths by redbacks in the last 150 years watch our animals playlist for more top 15 videos about animals sit back relax and binge watch all of our best animal related videos [Music] you