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A young British tourist will have two fingers amputated after being bitten on the hand by the elusive recluse spider, or Loxosceles rufescens, the only species of its kind found in Spain.

 

The Mediterranean recluse spiders are small, growing to between 10 and 15 millimetres. They are brown in colour with a violin-shaped pattern on the dorsal part of the cephalothorax.

 

The Mediterranean recluse spider is the only species of Loxosceles that is found in Spain and is native to South America, a continent in which about 70 species have been identified, the most poisonous being the laeta Loxosceles and recluse Loxosceles .

 

The Loxosceles are characterized by being very aggressive, but tend to bite only when threatened or provoked. They are nocturnal and hide in dark places where they wait for their prey to jump on them, and tend not to live in webs.

 

The unfortunate tourist first noticed the bite while enjoying the sunset on the island of Ibiza, but didn’t pay much attention to it. In the early hours of the following morning, however, he was awoken abruptly by a burning sensation in his hand and noticed that it had swollen considerably.

 

After two weeks in the hospital in Ibiza, he returned to Wales, where he is currently waiting for the rest of his hand to heal before two fingers will be amputated. Once he arrived at the hospital, the medical staff concentrated on ensuring that the poison didn’t spread to the rest of his hand. According to the doctors who treated the young tourist, this is the fifth case of serious bites from the recluse spider recorded in Spain in recent years.

 

Guillem Pons, professor in the Department of Geography of the University of the Balearic Islands specialized in Biogeography, explained that spider bites are becoming increasingly common in Spain, although amputations are still thankfully rare. This type of arachnid can be found in both urban and agricultural areas, as well as in caves, rocks and damp places. The venom causes necrosis (tissue death), ulceration and skin shedding, and immediate treatment usually focuses on preventing the spread of the poison.

 

Image: Archive