Welcome to ArachnoServer

ArachnoServer is a manually curated database containing information on the sequence, three-dimensional structure, and biological activity of protein toxins derived from spider venom. Spiders are the largest group of venomous animals, and they are predicted to contain by far the largest number of pharmacologically active peptide toxins (Escoubas et al., 2006). ArachnoServer has been custom-built so that a wide range of biological scientists, including neuroscientists, pharmacologists, and toxinologists, can readily access key data relevant to their discipline without being overwhelmed by extraneous information.

All spider toxin entries are sourced from UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot, then manually curated by our expert team using available literature and patent information. Spider taxonomy is based on the latest version of the authoritative World Spider Catalog. A key feature of ArachnoServer is the use of a molecular target ontology based on the channel and receptor subtype definitions recommended by IUPHAR. Moreover, in addition to any legacy synonyms, all peptide toxins in the database have been assigned names according to the recently described rational nomenclature for spider toxins (King et al., 2008).

ArachnoServer allows advanced searches of toxin information, browsing, as well as similarity searches using BLAST. Each toxin record is displayed on a single page and, where available, a toxin's structure can be dynamically visualized.

Use the Search and Browse tabs in the main menu for advanced queries. Each page includes brief on-screen guidance where helpful.

Toxin Distribution by Family

Cumulative Toxins by Year

Database Information

Toxins (curated)	1458
Species with toxins	91
Families with toxins	25
World Spider Catalog (taxonomy, export 15 April 2026)
Total spider species (WSC accepted)	53328
Genera (catalog)	4503
Families (catalog)	138