Kingdom Animalia Class Arachnida Family Euctenizidae Genus Apomastus Order Spider | Subphylum Chelicerata Infraorder Mygalomorphae Phylum Arthropoda Rank Species | |
Similar Aptostichus, Euctenizidae, Wafer trapdoor spider, Trapdoor spiders, Mygalomorphae | ||
Apomastus schlingeri (misnomer Aptostichus schlingeri) is a species of venomous spiders belonging to a family of trapdoor spiders. They produce a complex of neurotoxins called aptotoxins.
Venom
Apomastus schlingeri have a venom that is highly neurotoxic in effect. The neurotoxin is actually a complex of proteins called aptotoxins (Aps for short), which in turn belong to a group of neurotoxins called cyrtautoxins. There are at least nine different peptides, and most of them are directly paralytic and lethal to insect larvae. All of the peptides are voltage-gated sodium channel blockers. To date, Aps III is known to be the most potent peptide of all.
References
Apomastus schlingeri Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA