World's Largest Spider

World's Largest Spider

A member of the Theraphosidae tarantula family is the Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi). With a body length of up to 5.1 inches and a mass of 175g, it is the largest spider in the world. However, the big huntsman spider has a larger leg span than it does. It is sometimes referred to as the Goliath bird-eating spider. The word "bird-eating" originates from an early 1800s copper engraving by Maria Sibylla Merian that shows a theraphosid eating a hummingbird. In a world where tiny spiders can make people scream in fear, Theraphosa blondi takes scare tactics to a whole new level.

In terms of largest spider in the world, this South American tarantula now holds the title. While several spiders have longer legs than T. blondi, this spider's massive body is truly amazing.
Contrary to its name, T. blondi rarely feeds on birds. The Encyclopaedia of Life claims that it only seldom consumes birds. Instead, Gustavo Hormiga, a spider expert at George Washington University, claims that T. blondi primarily consumes worms, frogs, and other big arthropods.

Yet because of its size and opportunistic hunting behaviour, this species kills and eats a variety of insects and tiny terrestrial vertebrates. They carry their kill back to their burrow and begin to digest it there rather than eating it in the open. The largest spiders in the world accomplish this by first liquifying and then swallowing the insides of their victim. In the wild, T. blondi has been observed consuming lizards, toads, frogs, rats, and even snakes.

The highland rain forests of northern South America, which include Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana, the north of Brazil, and southern Venezuela, are home to the largest spider in the world, the Goliath birdeater. The terrestrial spider, most noticeable in the Amazon jungle, lives in subterranean tunnels and is typically found in marshy or swampy settings. This species is nocturnal.

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[Sillysnail]

We need some in Texas, USA. Rodent control.😮