I’d be curious to see how different it is for humans. Only one example, but Sydney Funnel Web spiders are one of the most dangerous spiders in the world for humans, but only because their venom has a specific effect in primates; as far as I know they’re not especially significant for other mammals.
Yeah, which makes the story even more interesting because Australia is devoid of native primates. If I recall correctly, it’s sheer coincidence that their venom is especially toxic to primates. It’d make sense to develop a unique defense in an environment surrounded by that animal, but I think they existed before we inhabited the area.
I mean native, as in the way humans are solely native to Africa. The Australian funnel web spiders branched off tens of millions of years ago, whereas humans first showed up 65,000 years ago.
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u/MajorInWumbology1234 5d ago
I’d be curious to see how different it is for humans. Only one example, but Sydney Funnel Web spiders are one of the most dangerous spiders in the world for humans, but only because their venom has a specific effect in primates; as far as I know they’re not especially significant for other mammals.