Skip to main content

Giant Huntsman Spider

Giant Huntsman Spider
Phylum : Arthropoda
Class : Arachnida
Order : Araneae
Family : Sparassidae
Genus : Heteropoda
Species : maxima

Legspan : 12in (30cm)
Body Size : 2in (4.7cm)

IUCN Status : Not Listed

The Giant Huntsman Spider is a newly identified species that was first discovered in the Mekong region in 2001. It has the largest legspan of any spider species yet uncovered (though since 2001 we've found over 1,000 new species in the Mekong alone, so who knows!)

Despite its scary huge size, the Giant Huntsman Spider is not dangerous to humans. They get their name from the fact that they stalk and hunt down their prey (insects, small vertebrates); they are also quite fast on their long, gangly legs.

Giant Huntsman Spiders are not venomous, and a bite from them will just give you a regular old spider bite.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a

10 Years?!

My goodness! It's been 6 years since I went on hiatus, and now more than 10 years since AaD was born, and what a world we've moved in to! Animal a Day is coming back- but in the meantime, check us out on Facebook, for your daily dose of #BIRDNEWS

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!