"South Africa has a rich fauna of spiders, with about 2,000 known species. A variety of spiders occur in houses and outbuildings and it is inevitable that they will often come into close contact with humans. Most spiders will avoid physical contact, but when they are accidentally touched or squeezed, in self-defence they might deliver a bite. Very few spiders are potentially harmful to people. The spiders can be divided into the ones that produce neurotoxic or cytotoxic venom. The neurotoxic venom affects the nerve system and it is mainly the button spiders (widow spiders) that are the most important. They belong to the family Theridiidae genus Latrodectus and six species are known from Southern Africa. The cytotoxic venom affects the tissue around the bite site and the only spiders with cytotoxic venom so far known to be of medical importance in South Africa are the sac spiders (Cheiracanthium spp) and violin spiders (Loxosceles spp)."
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In response to "Which ones are really dangerous – and how do you know at first glance?"
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ansie_Dippenaar-Schoeman
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Ansie Dippenaar-Schoeman
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