Do you suffer from Arachnophobia? Then run far away from this story and the rainforest in Guyana, South America. Piotr Naskrecki, entomologist, photographer and author, currently at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University has stumbled upon the world’s largest spider: The South American Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi).
Naskrecki was walking in the rainforest when he heard a rustling at his feet. He looked down, turned on his flashlight and could not believe his eyes. It wasn’t a rodent; it was a spider the size of a small dog.
“When I turned on the light, I couldn’t quite understand what I was seeing,” Naskrecki was quoted by Discovery.com. According to Wiki, the “bird-eating” name derives from an early 18th-century copper engraving by Maria Sybilla Merian that shows one eating a hummingbird.
It has prickly hairs and a pair of 2-inch-long (5 centimeters) fangs. Although the spider’s bite is venomous, it’s not deadly to humans. These spiders can have a leg span of up to 28 cm (11 in) and can weigh over 170 g (6.0 oz).
Imagine taking a nice stroll and stumbling upon that…
