This is the infamous White-tailed spider, Lampona cylindrata. In their natural habitat they can be found under bark or among the leaf litter and other such places. However, they also have a tendency to come indoors. They feed on other spiders, so, houses provide good hunting grounds with their abundance of Black House Spiders and Daddy Long-legs . This one was found some time ago when I went to clean under a large plant pot in my sun room. The scary thing is, they have a reputation for getting into bedding, as well as any clothing that was left lying (a good incentive to keep a tidy house)
Some say that the bite of the White-tailed spider can cause necrotising arachnidism. (Type that into Google Images if you dare.) Others say there is no hard evidence for this. I can tell you that two family members have been bitten on the foot by a White-tail. One had short term pain and blistering. The other did have necrosis like symptoms with long lasting, spreading ulcers, which took over six months to heal.
@mostly.nature )
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