Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2000]
The most poisonous animal, believe it or not, is the daddy long legs, however, it's mouth is so small, it cannot bite us.
Origins: This claim has a few ambiguities to it. First of all, "poisonous" and "venomous" are two distinctly different qualities: poisonous animals give off toxins which are absorbed when they are touched or eaten by attackers; venomous animals transmit toxins by injecting them into their victims. Secondly, more than one type of critter is referred to as a "daddy longlegs." The crane fly, a winged insect which looks like a large mosquito, is called a daddy longlegs in some parts of the world (such as England), but it is not venomous (nor is it a type of spider). The pholcus phalangioides, also referred to as the long-legged cellar spider, is an example of a "daddy longlegs" spider, probably the one referred to here as being the world's "most poisonous animal":
In terms of being poisonous (i.e., posing a danger to people who might eat or handle it), a daddy longlegs spider can't compare to the South American poison dart frog. And according to the Spiders and other Arachnids site at the University of California, Riverside, there's no evidence that daddy longlegs spider venom poses any danger to humans:
Last updated: 29 June 2007
Beem, Kate. "Poison-Dart Frogs Call School Home." The Kansas City Star. 26 January 1998 (p. B1). Gadd, Laurence. Deadly Beautiful: The World's Most Poisonous Animals and Plants. New York: Macmillan, 1980. Jones, Rebecca. "PB and Honey Sandwich a Sweet Lunchroom Treat." Denver Rocky Mountain News. 12 October 1997 (p. D20). Levey, Bob. "At Camp, Chester Provides a Leggy Lesson." The Washington Post. 18 July 2000 (p. C9). McClanahan, Thomas. "'Raccoons Ate All My Gumballs.'" The Kansas City Star. 20 July 1999 (p. B7).