And humans being primates are certainly vulnerable to this. One might think that we'd be large enough so that this venom might only be a minor irritation or that since we aren't the spider's prey that like many other animals, we'd be completely immune to the venom of the Funnel Web Spider. But no dice. Even being exponentially larger than this animal is no protection for us.
Apparently the males do the majority of the biting and are the particularly venomous ones. This looks like something from the films Alien or The Thing but it's just real life. Unlike with puppies or kittens I don't think very many humans will be lining up to ooh or ahh over these new additions to our planet.
The bite of a Sydney funnel web spider is at first painful, due to the large fangs and acidic pH of the venom. If there is no immediate treatment symptoms may arise beginning 10 minutes after the bite.
Hypertension may occur, which is often followed by a prolonged hypotension and circulatory failure. Other symptoms include dyspnea and ultimately respiratory failure, generalized skeletal muscle fasciculation, salivation, lachrymation, sweating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, pulmonary edema and pain.
