From the mind of Mother Nature, the terrible she-demon of Snake Opens a Door and Grouper Swallows Shark, comes the Goliath birdeater spider, out winter 2015 to eat your children. Actually, according to scientist Piotr Naskrecki on the Smaller Majority, the “venom of a birdeater is not deadly to humans,” which is exactly what a spider the size of a puppy wants you to think.
The South American Goliath birdeater is the largest spider in the world. For all the arachnophobes out there this is probably a good excuse to pave over large swaths of the Amazonian rainforest, but for the rest of us this species is one of biodiversity’s crown jewels. Although far from being the largest member of the subphylum Chelicerata – this honor belongs to horseshoe crabs – Goliath birdeaters are ridiculously huge for a land arthropod. Their leg span approaches 30 cm (nearly a foot) and they weigh up to 170 g – about as much as a young puppy. (Via)
The pictures on Naskrecki’s website are horrifying/a great Halloween costume idea.