TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- A spider that was found in a Tulsa grocery store may not have been as deadly as originally thought.
The spider found in a shipment of bananas at Whole Foods was taken Sunday to the University of Tulsa, where animal facilities manager Terry Childs identified it as a Brazilian wandering spider, considered one of the most lethal in the world.
But Barry Downer, the curator of aquariums and herpetology at the Tulsa Zoo, said video and photos he had seen of the spider led him to believe that it was a Huntsman spider, which is harmless to humans.
"There's pretty definitive evidence it has been misidentified," Downer said.
Childs said Wednesday night that he had destroyed the spider at the urging of a university administrator because of safety concerns.
Downer said the spider should have been preserved for study, but he was told that the body would not be made available.
"It doesn't make any sense to me why it wouldn't be saved," he said.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DEADLY_SPIDER?SITE=PAPOE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
The spider found in a shipment of bananas at Whole Foods was taken Sunday to the University of Tulsa, where animal facilities manager Terry Childs identified it as a Brazilian wandering spider, considered one of the most lethal in the world.
But Barry Downer, the curator of aquariums and herpetology at the Tulsa Zoo, said video and photos he had seen of the spider led him to believe that it was a Huntsman spider, which is harmless to humans.
"There's pretty definitive evidence it has been misidentified," Downer said.
Childs said Wednesday night that he had destroyed the spider at the urging of a university administrator because of safety concerns.
Downer said the spider should have been preserved for study, but he was told that the body would not be made available.
"It doesn't make any sense to me why it wouldn't be saved," he said.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DEADLY_SPIDER?SITE=PAPOE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
