Deadly furniture-living spider species which 'can rot human flesh' discovered
The creature hides in living room and bedrooms in Mexico and can kill instantly with experts saying they are "completely different" to any other type of spider on the planet
A new species of spider which hides in furniture and can allegedly rot human flesh with only a single bite has been discovered.
The deadly arachnids have been found in Mexico causing concern among locals after a warning was issued.
The house spider has been found by scientists from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, who sent out the warning.
It has been found in the city of Tlaxcala and has been named Loxosceles tenochtitlan.
Loxoceles spiders are known for having a potent tissue-destroying venom that can cause "necrosis lesions" in the skin of up to 40cm.
These can take several months to heal, leaving a permanent scar.
The critter was discovered by biologist and university professor Alejandro Valdez-Mondragon together with his students.
Valdez-Mondragon told local media: "As it is very similar to the Loxosceles misteca we thought that it had been introduced to this region by the shipping of ornamental plants.
"But when doing molecular biology studies of both species, we realised that they are completely different."
He also warned the arachnid can bite humans if they feel attacked, although they usually hide in holes between objects, furniture or in walls.
Worryingly, their bite is more dangerous to children.
Experts say it can end up being carried by the bloodstream resulting in red cells destruction, although these cases are very rare.
They can also be more dangerous during rainy seasons as males look for females at night and because of their erratic behaviour they can end up hiding in cloth, bed sheets, or shoes.
The best way to keep the spiders away is by keeping houses neat and tidy.
They also are attracted to rubbish as they can feed on the insects around it and females are twice as poisonous as males.
Mexico is the country with the highest diversity of the genus Loxosceles as 40 out of the 140 species that exist in the world are native to the country.