World's biggest spider

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Ranked #16 in Animals, #653 overall

Taxonomy 

Kingdom - Animalia (animals)
Phylum - Arthropoda (arthropods)
Class - Arachnida (spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks, ...)
Order - Araneae (spiders)
Family - Theraphosidae (baboon spiders)

About Goliath 

Native to the rain forest regions of northern South America, these spiders have up to a 30 centimeter (12 in) long leg span when fully extended and can weigh over 120 grams. Wild goliath birdeaters are a deep burrowing species, found commonly in marshy or swampy areas. Goliath birdeaters usually live in burrows in the ground that they have either dug themselves or have been previously abandoned by rodents or other similar creatures.

Goliath spider video 

Goliath Birdeater (Theraphosa blondi)

Runtime: 1:38
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curated content from YouTube

Five tarantula snippets 

  1. The tarantula's venom, including that of the Goliath, is not usually lethal to humans, although the bite may cause pain, sickness and sweating.
  2. Tarantulas eat small snakes, lizards, insects, frogs, and sometimes even bats and rodents. The Goliath has been known to catch young birds. This is very rare but is the behaviour that gave the spider its name. It was a Victorian explorer who saw one eating a hummingbird.
  3. Tarantulas don't have teeth for eating their meals. Instead, they inject juices into their victims. These juices break down the soft tissues, allowing the spider to slurp up its victims insides. Yum.
  4. The Goliath tarantula can make a noise by rubbing bristles on its legs together. This 'hissing' sound is loud enough to be heard up to 15 feet away!
  5. The tarantula's secret weapon is its ability to release hairs from its body at any creature it sees as a threat. The tiny hairs are very irritating to the skin, and can cause problems if they get into the mucous membranes around the mouth and eyes.

Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula 

The World's Biggest Spider

Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula: The World's Biggest Spider (Supersized!)

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Tarantula pictures 

Spider in leaf by flurdy

Spider in leaf

tarantula by flurdy

tarantula

tarantula at dinner by flurdy

tarantula at dinner

tarantula at dinner by flurdy

tarantula at dinner

tarantula by flurdy

tarantula

tarantula at dinner by flurdy

tarantula at dinner

Az. Tarantula Postcard Trade. by koiart71

Az. Tarantula Postca...

IMG_6440.JPG by Aka Hige

IMG_6440.JPG

IMG_6441.JPG by Aka Hige

IMG_6441.JPG

IMG_6460.JPG by Aka Hige

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Bird Spider/Tarantula3 by Valeriana Solaris

Bird Spider/Tarantul...

Bird Spider/Tarantula2 by Valeriana Solaris

Bird Spider/Tarantul...

Bird Spider/Tarantula by Valeriana Solaris

Bird Spider/Tarantul...

IMG_6448.JPG by Aka Hige

IMG_6448.JPG

IMG_6452.JPG by Aka Hige

IMG_6452.JPG

automatically generated by Flickr

Camel spiders 

But what about the gigantic Camel spider?!

Camel spiders, (sometimes known as sunspiders or sun scorpions) are one of 800 species of the order Solifugae (formerly Solpugida) of the arthropod class Arachnida. They are so-called because of their humped heads, not because they eat camels!

They prefer hot, dry regions and are known for their swiftness (up to 10mph). Their hairiness and rounded abdomens are spiderlike whilst the front appendages resemble those of a scorpion.

Body length is typically half an inch to 2 inches, although this is more like 6 inches including the legs. So the camel spider is about half the size of our Goliath!

Camel spiders have a huge appetite, and the largest can kill small vertebrates. They have large, toothed pincers for grabbing, with sucking tips for seizing prey!

Bites, though uncommon, can leave a nasty, ragged wound requiring medical treatment.

Is the thought of a giant tarantula giving you the creeps...? 

How about owning a radio-controlled one instead?!

Discovery Exclusive Radio Control Tarantula

* Radio control tarantula with remote
* Furry and life-sized
* Crawls like a real spider
* Eyes light up
* Scurries across any flat, smooth surface

News search 

Updated every 30 minutes

Bono's troubled Broadway musical 'Spider-Man' has been saved!
?Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark? was originally set to preview at the Hilton Theater on February 25, 2010 and open in March, but production was stalled for ...
Spider-Man RE-Boot Ideas
I want the name of the films to be monikers of Spider-Man(eg The Amazing Spiderman,Spectacular Spiderman,ect.).I would split the films in half with a mostly ...
Robbers in Spider-Man masks target Southlake bank
By SARAH ACOSTA / The Dallas Morning News Two people wearing Spider-Man masks robbed a Bank of America at 2025 W. Southlake Blvd. last Friday morning, ...
Ultimate Comics Spider-Man #4
by Timothy Callahan Perhaps this new volume of "Ultimate Spider-Man" isn't the perfect opportunity for artist David Lafuente to shine. ...

 

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Spider blogs 

Updated every 30 minutes

'Spider-Man' Musical Announces New Producers, Star - ArtsBeat Blog ...
After a meeting Friday to determine the fate of the Broadway musical "Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark," its creative team announced new producers as well as the actor who will portray the title character.
Spider-Man Musical Pulls Itself Together, Slowly - Spider-man - io9
The permanently troubled Spider-Man musical took a couple of steps in the right direction towards being able to open yesterday; not only did the show get a new lead producer, but an actor was finally announced to play Peter Parker.
No Land Grab: Spider-Man on Broadway: The Atlantic Yards of Musicals?
All we need now are a string of eminent-domain lawsuits, and Julie Taymor's wildly ambitious Broadway adaptation of Spider-Man might as well change its name to Atlantic Yards: The Musical. (Starring Harvey Fierstein as embattled ...
Broadway's Spider-Man Lives! Also, Peter Parker Cast -- Vulture
It'll open sometime next year. Also, Reeve Carney will play the lead role.

The Jungle Store 

The Jungle Store is teeming with collectibles, jewelry, costumes, masks, party supplies and inflatables...!


Guestbook 

World's biggest spider

kcs9832 wrote...

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ReplyPosted October 10, 2009

Joan4 wrote...

Super educational lens! Spiders do give me the creeps, but this is fascinating read!

ReplyPosted September 14, 2009

voodoomama wrote...

Pretty good lens about these creepy critters. I lensrolled you to my Mammoth Spiders lens.

ReplyPosted September 07, 2009

cc2786 wrote...

geez, i hate spiders! But this is a really interesting lens. The giant ones are particularly scary...
keep up the great work :)

ReplyPosted August 27, 2009

beachbum_gabby wrote...

I like to see them in picture but in personal I can't dare to touch them :D

ReplyPosted August 19, 2009

view all 47 comments

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