''Hexophthalma hahni'' ( synonyms ''Sicarius hahni'' and ''Sicarius testaceus''), known along with other members of the genus as the six-eyed sand spider, is a member of the family

Sicariidae Sicariidae is a family of six-eyed venomous spiders known for their potentially necrotic bites. The family consists of three genera and about 160 species. Well known spiders in this family include the brown recluse spider and the six-eyed sand ...

, found in deserts and other sandy places in

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number o ...

. Due to their flattened stance and laterigrade legs, they are also sometimes known as six-eyed crab spiders. Its

specific Specific may refer to: * Specificity (disambiguation) * Specific, a cure or therapy for a specific illness Law * Specific deterrence, focussed on an individual * Specific finding, intermediate verdict used by a jury in determining the fina ...

name honours

Carl Wilhelm Hahn Carl Wilhelm Hahn (Lat. ''Carolus Guilielmus Hahn'', 16 December 1786 – 7 November 1835) was a German zoologist and author of the first German monograph on spiders. C. W. Hahn was an all-round natural scientist – not at all unusual for his t ...

Venom

All species of ''Hexophthalma'' produce venom that can have

necrotic Necrosis () is a form of cell injury which results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis. Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, or trauma which result in the unregulated dige ...

(dermonecrotic) effects, capable of causing serious or even life-threatening wounds, particularly if the wound becomes infected or the venom spreads in the body. The necrotic effects are caused by a family of proteins related to

sphingomyelinase D Sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase D (EC 3.1.4.41, sphingomyelinase D) is an enzyme of the sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase family with systematic name sphingomyelin ceramide-phosphohydrolase. These enzymes catalyse the hydrolysis of sphingomyelin, res ...

, present in the venom of all sicariid spiders. Most ''Hexophthalma'' species, though, including ''H. hahnii'', have only been studied ''in vitro'', and the detailed effects of their venom in humans and other vertebrates are unknown. No records of bites in southern Africa have been proven.

References

External links

* Ellis R
Survival strategy: hiding (of six-eyed sand spider)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q55586198, from2=Q55586095 Sicariidae Spiders of Africa Spiders described in 1878