Goliath Birdeater

Theraphosa blondi

If spiders make you squeamish, you might not want to read much further (though I hope you do!). This spider is... well... really, really big. Like, the size of your hand big.

Goliath Birdeaters have legspans that can reach nearly a foot across, so the Goliath name is well earned. However, despite the name and gigantic size they normally consume insects, and birds are only consumed on rare occasions!

You can find these monster Spiders living in the northern rainforests of South America. They live on the ground, and build burrows for themselves that can go deep into the ground. It will take them several years to reach full maturity, and males have MUCH shorter lifespans than females (who can live up to 25 years!) Part of that probably has to do with the fact that females are known to kill their mates after breeding-- yikes!

Happily, though the Goliath Birdeaters are venomous, their venom is not particularly dangerous to humans. Also, even if they do bite you (normally in self defense) they probably won't even inject any venom.

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IUCN Status : Not Evaluated
Location : South America
Size : Leg span up to 11in (28cm)

Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Class : Arachnida -- Order : Araneae
Family : Theraphosidae -- Genus : Theraphosa -- Species : T. blondi
Image : R. Somma