The Goliath Birdeater is the world’s largest tarantula, and it gets its name because of its massive size, and because it is capable of eating entire birds.
Nevertheless, because they’re so close to the ground, it is rare that they can snag a living bird in the wild, but it’s happened.
Accordint to anonews.co, the spider’s diet consists mainly of other large arthropods, worms, amphibians, as well as a range of insects, frogs, toads, lizards, rodents, and even snakes.
They might look scary, but experts say that tarantulas aren’t much of a threat to humans, and they’ll rarely ever attack a human without any provocation.
Nevertheless, these spiders will attack a human if it feels threatened, so it’s best to be extremely cautious in the rare chance that you’d encounter one in the wild.
A Goliath bird-eating spider. This is the largest spider according to the Guinness World Records. / Photo Credit: Sheri (Bellatrix on Flickr) Wikipedia
Captive adult female Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi) molt / Photo Credit: Heftrdevistating, Wikipedia
Sparassidae. Palystes castaneus, mature female. Rain spider, or lizard eating spider. Photographed near Somerset West, South Africa. / Photo Credit: Jon Richfield Wikipedi
The Goliath Birdeater is an exotic species that is unique in the wild. The species has some impressive capabilities, such as the regeneration of limbs, and its massive size when compared with other spiders.
The Goliath Birdeater also has some strange attributes also, such as the fact that the females live far longer than the males. Male specimens will usually only live for a few years, but the females will live for decades if they can avoid danger.
Unlike other species of tarantulas and spiders, females don’t eat the males during mating. Females mature in three to six years and have an average lifespan of 15 to 25 years. Males die soon after maturity and have a lifespan of 3-6 years.
The female lays 100 to 200 eggs, that hatch into spiderlings within 6-8 weeks.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the South American Goliath birdeater is the largest spider in the world. The specimen’s legs can reach up to one foot, and it can weight up to six oz.
Birdeaters are one of the few tarantula species which lack tibial spurs, that are usually located on the first pair of legs of most adult males.
The Goliath birdeater is native to the upland rain forest regions of northern South America: Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, northern Brazil, and southern Venezuela.
The video from the Smithsonian Channel, depicts a Goliath Birdeater munching down on a lizard.
The world’s second largest spider is known as the Huntsman Spider. These spiders are also exceptionally large, but they’re even more terrifying because they’re fast.
In southern Africa, a family of the species is known as rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders. These spiders exist in some parts of the Americas, even the USA.
They tend to live under rocks, bark and similar shelters, yet human encounters are commonly in sheds, garages and other infrequently-disturbed places.
Huntsman Spiders have an extremely toxic venom too, so it’s best to be careful if you happen to encounter one.
While these spiders might seem scary, it is always important to remember that they’re usually more afraid of us than we are of them.
If spiders don’t feel threatened, they’ll usually not attack a human and will do their best to get away from you. Also, spiders are vital to the entire ecosystem and get rid of many bugs and pests.
Yet, unless you go traveling to the remote corners of the planet, or live in one of the rare places where those species are found, it’s rare that you will ever see one of the spiders outside of captivity.
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