What is the biggest spider? The Goliath tarantula is the largest spider in the world. Colombian purple tarantula spider

Most big spider in the world discovered in the last century in Venezuela. The body length was 9 cm, the leg span reached 28 cm. The list of the most major representatives arachnids included inhabitants of tropical countries, but some of them live in Russia. All of them inject a toxic substance when they bite, but none of them are capable of killing a person.

Top 10 giant spiders

There are about 42 thousand in the world. When bitten, a poisonous substance is injected, paralyzing the victim, saliva is injected, which liquefies the insides, and the contents are sucked out. But the biggest spider is not always the most dangerous to humans.

Theraphosa Blonda or Goliath tarantula

An arthropod with huge limbs, a large abdomen, and powerful jaws calmly hunts mice, frogs, toads, and snakes. The largest spider in the world was discovered in 1965 in Venezuela. The leg span was 28 cm, the body size was 9 cm. The average dimensions of the theraphosis were 8 cm, the limb span was 25 cm. In 2001, a huge creature was described with a leg span of 35 cm, but the body was less than 9 cm.

Lives in Venezuela, Brazil, Suriname. The body is dark brown. A photo of the largest spider in the world is presented below. The animal has not become widespread, since it is prohibited to export it from its habitat; it practically does not reproduce in captivity.

Heteropoda maxima

The largest spider received this title due to its long limbs with a span of about 30 cm. The body length is 4.5 cm, which is inferior to the previous representative of arachnids. Lives in Laos. Big body brownish-yellow in color, limbs with dark spots. One of the representatives is in the Paris museum of the National Museum of Natural History.

Interesting!

Females and males are the same color, slightly different in size. They live in caves and feed on insects. They pose no danger to humans. Exotic lovers often keep them as pets. Due to the excessive interest of collectors, the huge spider is gradually disappearing from nature.

Baboon spider

Lives in tropical, sub tropical countries. A large, shaggy creature with long brown hair grows to impressive dimensions. The leg span reaches 30.5 cm. This is one of the friendliest creatures on earth. The family lives together for six months and willingly shares food. Often relatives live next door and dig tunnels together. They hunt insects, small spiders, and beetles. The poison is toxic, but not dangerous to people. Often exotic animals are kept by collectors in terrariums.

Purple tarantula

The shaggy large spider lives in tropical countries, some species are found in Europe. Leg span is 25 cm. Lead night look life. They do not weave webs, they wait for prey in secluded places. They know how to dig deep, long tunnels underground. While running, they develop impressive speed.

Large tarantulas have a unique color with a purple tint, thick, long hairs covering the entire body, paws, powerful jaws. Often kept as pet. The main diet consists of insects, small spiders, beetles, as well as amphibians and birds.

Interesting!

A well-fed female does not leave her shelter for months. for a person does not represent mortal danger, causes discomfort and pain.

Jaeger or crab spider

Giant spiders live in nature. They have a bright red-orange color. The span of the limbs reaches 31 cm. At the ends of the legs there are discrepancies reminiscent of crab claws, hence the name. The terrible one is not dangerous to humans, it hunts insects. In the process of chasing the victim, it develops higher speed, can jump well.

goldweaver

The rarest large spider. Lives on the island of Madagascar, South Africa. Known for its enormous size. The diameter often reaches 1.5 m. Cobweb local residents used to make shiny, golden napkins, scarves, and fish balls. The leg span of the golden weaver is 12 cm, body size is 4 cm.

A rare species of large spider was officially introduced to humanity in 2000. Males are 2 times smaller than females and die immediately after mating. The poison is toxic, but not dangerous for people. Redness and swelling appear at the bite sites, and allergy sufferers have difficulty breathing.

Interesting!

In the American museum there is a large canvas measuring 3 square meters. m from the web of the golden weaver. It took 4 years, dozens of workers, and the spiders themselves to make it. The threads were taken away and the animals were released.

banana spider

The largest web-weaving spider in history. Its nets are so strong that birds get entangled in them and fishermen use them to catch fish. The body size does not exceed 4 cm, the leg span reaches 12 cm. The color is bright - yellow with black stripes. Spiders live in banana trees in Australia. They lay many larvae, thereby causing irreparable harm to the crop.

Interesting!

In 2010 it was recognized. The poison is extremely toxic, but with timely medical care, death can be avoided.

South Russian tarantula

The giant spider belongs to the family. Hunts insects, beetles, caterpillars. Their homeland is Asia, they live everywhere, and are found in Ukraine. The body is gray-black, covered with dense hairs. Size about 3.5 cm. Lives in burrows underground and tree hollows. Rarely appears outside, attacks from its secluded place. The web is weaved at the entrance to the burrow, and also to form a cocoon for the larvae.

People are bitten when their own lives are threatened. Swelling, pain, and redness appear at the site of the attack. Children and people with weakened immune systems experience weakness, headache, nausea, dizziness. About 30 live in the countries of the former CIS. Distinctive feature in appearance is the presence of a light cross on the belly in the upper part. The size of a large spider reaches 2.5 cm.

Lives in wildlife, shaded areas. It is found in the forest, at the edge of the forest, as well as in abandoned houses, barns, and on garden trees. The venom of a large spider is not dangerous to human life, but it causes some discomfort and deterioration in well-being. Swelling, redness, then suppuration and pain appear at the site of the bite. Children and people with weakened immune systems experience weakness, headache, chills, and other symptoms of intoxication.

Tegenaria wall

A large brown spider with long legs. The leg span is 15 cm. Lives in caves, on the walls of old houses, abandoned buildings. Lives in Europe, Africa, Argentina, Asia. This species is found everywhere. A peace-loving creature bites a person when its own life is threatened. In most cases, he tries to hide quickly. It develops quite impressive speed when running over a short distance.

Giant spiders lived back in the era of dinosaurs and then their size was not something incredible. As for our time, you can still meet such spiders, although for many people meeting them will cause either panic or admiration.

Next we will talk about one of these spiders - the Goliath tarantula or Blond's theraphosis. It is he who is one of the largest spiders in the world, since the length of his body in the leg span can reach 28 centimeters!

This formidable predator is quite widespread in tropical forests some countries in South America, namely northern Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela. It is most often found in damp, swampy areas.

The body of the spider consists of the cephalothorax and abdominal sections. The eyes and eight legs make up the cephalothorax of the spider. The abdominal organ includes the spinal organ, heart and genitals. Excretory system passes through the entire body of the spider. The abdominal part of the female has an egg chamber.

Despite the fact that the spider has poor eyesight, it is able to see in the dark. Like all tarantulas, the goliath is a carnivore. Sitting quietly in ambush, it lies in wait for its prey, then pounces on it using its fangs.

Although the spider is called a tarantula, it does not feed on birds. It’s just that the spider was seen for the first time when it was eating a bird. Vertebrates and invertebrates such as mice, lizards, small snakes, beetles, and butterflies are the main diet of the goliath.

Representatives of the goliath tarantula who are 3 years old are considered adults (mature). Sometimes after mating, the female eats her “favorite”. The goliath has sharp spines on the first pair of limbs, which serve as its protection from the female. The male lives on average about 6 years. The female can be up to 14 years old.

The female lays from 200 to 400 eggs, which she incubates for two months. After the little spiders are born, the mother spider looks after them for several weeks, after which they lead an independent lifestyle.

The goliath tarantula is distinguished by aggressive character traits. Sensing danger, it emits a peculiar hissing sound due to the friction of the bristles on its legs. Fangs, the length of which is a couple of centimeters, as well as burning villi serve as protection. The fangs are poisonous, but not very toxic compared to other poisonous insects.

The refuge for these spiders are deep burrows, which previously served as a home for small rodents until they met their current owner. The entrance to the burrow is protected by cobwebs, and all the walls from the inside are also shrouded in it. Females spend most of their lives here, coming out only at night to hunt and during mating. Leave the house at for a long time not in their rules. Often spiders hunt nearby and drag the prey to their lair.

Besides size, there is another difference between male and female. The males have small hooks on their front legs, with which he holds the female’s huge chelicerae during mating, saving his life in this way. The color of these spiders is most often dark brown, and there are reddish-brown hairs on their legs. Because of these numerous hairs, which also cover the entire body, these spiders are also jokingly called “fluffy”.

But this is not a decoration at all, but one of the means of protection against uninvited guests. The fact is, when these hairs get on the skin, lungs or mucous membranes of the mouth and nose, they cause severe irritation. In order for the “weapon” to reach its target, the spiders brush hairs from their abdomen in the direction of the enemy with sharp movements of their hind legs. In addition, they serve as an organ of touch for the spider. The hairs pick up the slightest vibrations of the earth and air. But they see poorly.

For a long time it was believed that the venom of the goliath tarantula is very dangerous and most often leads to fatal outcome, but it turned out that this is far from the case. The effect of a spider bite can be compared to a bee sting. A small swelling appears at the site, which is accompanied by quite tolerable pain. Although for allergy sufferers its bite can be dangerous.

Spider venom has a paralyzing effect on nervous system smaller prey such as frogs, small snakes, insects, rodents, lizards and other small animals. The victim is unable to move after being bitten.

To feed, tarantulas inject digestive juice into the body of the “dinner,” which breaks down soft tissue and allows the spider to suck out the liquid and eat the soft meat of its prey.

The most interesting thing is that the tarantula does not feed on birds. Well, if only very in rare cases when he comes across a chick that has fallen from the nest. The spider got its name thanks to the German entomologist and artist Maria Sibylla Merian, who was the first to sketch it. They show a spider eating a small hummingbird. This is where the name “tarantula” stuck to it. The official description of this tarantula spider belongs to the entomologist Latreille (1804).

The following information may seem a little wild to you, but among local residents these spiders are a delicacy and they use not only adult specimens, but also spider eggs. As a result, the population of these animals in natural environment habitat is gradually decreasing.

This individual behaves quite aggressively and does not like to be picked up. And although the goliath’s venom is not very toxic, quite a lot of it is released.

If you have tarantula goliath, then the terrarium in which he lives will look not like a dish with soil, but like a place where a very serious animal lives. The terrarium for the spider should be spacious enough.

The terrarium can be either plastic or glass, horizontal type. The volumes should be on average 25-35 liters with a closing lid. The lid is needed to prevent your pet from suddenly deciding to take a walk outside the terrarium. Spiders should be kept separately due to their inherent cannibalism.

Sphagnum, pine sawdust, and vermiculite are used for bedding. The best solution would be to choose coconut substrate more than 5 cm as bedding. In order for the animal to have the opportunity to make a hole for itself, a coconut shell or a medium-sized piece of bark should be placed in the terrarium.

Temperature for normal content should be between 22-26C, but they can easily tolerate a drop in temperature to 15C. The main thing is that the temperature of the engorged spider is not too low. In this case, there is a high probability of the onset of putrefactive processes of food in the spider’s stomach. Humidity should be high - 75-85%. If the humidity is insufficient, there may be a problem with the normal molting of the animal. To maintain humidity, install a water bowl and mist the terrarium regularly. Provide good ventilation, this will protect the spider from fungal infections.

The feeding process can take more than a day. The goliath spider feeds on small insects. Adults successfully cope with frogs and mice.

The feeding frequency of young spiders is twice a week, adults feed once a week, one and a half times. There is no need to feed young spiders with insects that are too large, i.e. such that would exceed the size of half the abdomen of a goliath. This can cause stress and, as a result, food refusal.

The maximum time that a goliath spider can go without food is about 6 months. But of course you shouldn’t experiment with your pet.

The most difficult period in the life of a spider is molting. At these moments you should not touch or irritate them. During molting, the Goliath tarantula and other spiders move little and do not eat anything. The regularity of shedding depends on the age of the animal. Young individuals shed regularly, but adults molt every two months or a year.

An interesting fact is that the web of tarantulas does not serve as a trap for the prey, like other representatives of this species; tarantulas are real hunters, they track and attack prey. Tarantulas wait for their prey in ambush and jump on it. This feature, as well as their coloring, has led local residents to call tarantulas “land tigers.”

Although the Goliath tarantula is considered the largest spider in the world, there is still one species that surpasses it in the span of its limbs, but is significantly inferior in body size - Heteropoda maxima, whose leg span reaches 30 centimeters. The largest specimen was discovered in 2001 in Laos, in one of the caves in Khammouane province.

sources

http://www.8lap.ru

http://exomania.com.ua

http://ianimal.ru

http://quickfly.ru

Reading time: 8 minutes. Published 06/30/2018

Nature is diverse and has created a lot of interesting and unusual creatures. Spiders can be classified as the most numerous and interesting individuals. In apartments and houses there are relatively small individuals, but in the world there are arachnids that amaze with their size and even frighten. But not everyone knows which spider is the largest in the world, because in most cases large species They are rare and live in tropical countries.

There are huge and frightening spiders in nature.

In this article:

Nephiles-orb-weavers and their description

Nephila - large spider, which weaves the largest and strongest nets in the world. In some of them, scientists even discovered entangled birds. And the fishermen of the Pacific and Indian Ocean They use their web to catch fish.

This type of arthropod has quite a few names, the most popular of which are wood andbananaspider. Nephiles are poisonous, but their poison is not dangerous to humans. After a bite, slight redness or rashes may appear on the body, which completely disappear after a day.

The body length does not exceed 4 cm, but the paws can reach a length of 12 cm. The body color is bright, warning of its danger to small animals and insects. Most often, nephiles are orange or red in color. These arthropods are found in Australia, Madagascar, Asia and Africa.

The largest spiders are described in the video:

This type of spider belongs to the runner family. The genus Phoneutria, which belongs to this species, is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the most poisonous in the world. It is more dangerous than its relatives; its poison can cause significant damage to human health and large animals.

The main characteristics are:

• body length up to 5 cm;
• paw span - 17 cm;
• lives in tropical regions of Central and South America.

It got its name - the Brazilian wandering - because it does not sit still and does not wait for the victim to become entangled in its nets. He hunts during regular travels. Having noticed the victim, it accelerates to incredible speed and pounces on it. Through the chelicerae (jaws) it releases poison into the body of the prey, thereby blocking its resistance.

Leads an active lifestyle only at night, and During the day he tries to hide in shady places:

• under stones;
• in grass.

In rare cases, it can crawl into a person’s home and hide in things. But he will not attack people unless he has to defend himself. In this case, the spider may bite. The main diet of arachnids is birds and lizards. It often eats small spiders and can even feed on sweet fruits.

Watch the video about the strangest types of spiders:

This spider is one of the cutest and most attractive individuals. This is what is often kept at home. It is interesting for a person appearance, bright colors and fluffy body. Under natural conditions, it can be found in hot and humid areas, and can often be seen in dense bushes.

Tarantulas are a species that is prohibited from being caught and sold. There are very few of them left, so arachnids are listed in the Red Book.

This species of spider is less dangerous to humans than other subspecies of tarantulas. But for large animals and people, the burning hairs of the arthropod that cover its entire body are dangerous. When in danger, the spider sheds some of its villi: if they get on the skin, they can lead to burns and an allergic reaction. If it gets into the eyes, it can lead to loss of vision.

All individuals of this species are no more than 8 cm in size. The body is colored Brown color with red or orange stripes on the legs and abdomen. Varieties with yellow edges are often found. Tarantula feeding small lizards, bird eggs and rodents.

This giant is quite capable of becoming a pet. Despite its terrifying appearance, it does not pose any particular danger to humans. Its poison is only dangerous for small animals or invertebrates. If after a bite a person immediately consults a doctor, then he will not face anything except nausea and slight dizziness.

Like most spiders, the baboon tarantula is usually nocturnal and secretive. This representative of arthropods lives in a hole that it digs itself. But this is not just a hole: it is a whole system of tunnels. Found mainly in tropical forests. When hunting, the tarantula digs a small hole in the grass and covers it with cobwebs, making it invisible to potential prey.

Baboon species feed on small animals and spiders. Their body size is no more than 9 cm, but the span of their limbs is much larger - up to 20 cm.

The peculiarity of arachnids is that females do not eat their hatched young. They share food with them and protect them until they leave the nest.

You can often find this giant spider at home. But the character of the individuals is far from friendly; for the most part they are very aggressive. However, those who like this arthropod are happy to buy it and keep it at home.

He hunts from cover, lying in wait for his prey in a secluded corner. It catches its prey very quickly and pierces it with powerful chelicerae. It feeds on small lizards, frogs, fish and small insects. It lives mainly in the tropical forests of Panama, Ecuador and Colombia.

This arachnid can live up to 15 years if conditions allow, and its size can reach 22 cm.

Cerbal Arabian

This species of arthropod lives in Israel and Jordan. The specimen was discovered relatively recently - in 2003.

Its dimensions range from 20 to 25 cm. The color of the spider is adapted to the shade of sand, among which it spends most of its time. It attacks prey only at night and hides among small stones during the day.

It lives mainly in Arabia, which is where its name comes from - Arabian cerbal. It is completely safe for humans, so it is often found at home.

This spider can also be called a camel spider due to the hump on its back. All individuals of this species are very active, but are strictly nocturnal. The body and limbs are covered with hairs.

The individuals' vision is quite remarkable. They have another extra pair of eyes on the sides, like scorpions. Spiders distinguish light and are able to react to movement. Due to this, the arachnid's reaction is very fast. It attacks the victim with a delay of a split second, thanks to which the giant spider is considered not only an excellent hunter, but also an elusive creature.

Another notable feature of the spider is its chelicerae. They are so strong and durable that it can bite through not only the skin, but also a human nail. Externally, each chelicera resembles a crab claw. It is with them that he rips off the fur and feathers from his prey, and then lines his home with the material.

It can reach 25 cm in size including legs. It lives mainly in desert areas and can be found on all continents. This is the most common spider on the planet.

Brazilian orange-pink tarantula

The first mention of this spider dates back to 1917. This is a rare endemic species. Its habitat is limited to one place, in particular, the state of Paraiba in Brazil. Individuals cannot live in other places.

The Brazilian tarantula is not the largest spider on Earth, but it is the most expensive. Its cost is incredible considering that the population is very small.

The body is colored brown or black, gradually turning into gray at the tips of the paws. The size ranges from 20 to 26 cm. The main diet consists of insects, but it also likes to feast on small lizards, frogs and smaller spiders.

A real giant - goliath

The largest spider in the world is the Goliath tarantula. This arthropod lives in the tropics of South America and looks very scary. Its fangs are at least 2 cm, and its body weight is 170 g. With such an impressive size, its nutrition is appropriate. He prefers mice, small lizards and snakes.

Even in the picture, this spider looks terrifying, but the goliath attacks only when it senses danger. Even so, he doesn't always use his paralyzing poison.

The spider is not dangerous to humans; swelling or redness may occur at the site of the bite, which will completely disappear after a few days.

He builds his own housing by digging a small hole in the ground and covering it with cobwebs like a door. Female goliaths live up to 25 years, but males live only 6 years.

The web is not used for hunting. Most often, he waits for the victim in a secluded corner and pounces on it. With sharp fangs it rips open the body and injects poison so that the prey does not escape.

The largest spider in the world does not look so terrible, which is why it is also often kept in terrariums at home. But more often, large individuals can be found in zoos and you can admire their beauty and unusual coloring.

Do you know how much the largest spider in the world weighs and what its size is? Can you imagine what it looks like? It is worth admitting that most people are latently, if not overtly, afraid of these arthropods. Victims of arachnophobia - an inexplicable fear of these creatures - are unlikely to be attracted by the ranking of the largest spiders in the world.

But for everyone else, we offer the TOP 10 largest representatives of this class.

Nephila the goldweaver

This spider lives in Asia, Australia and South America. The length of the male nephile golden moth is 10 mm, the females are larger, their size is 4 cm, and with limbs they are all 13 cm! These representatives of arthropods are yellow-green in color, and their head and belly are white.

Nephilic goldworms are very poisonous. And although their bite is not fatal, it can cause damage to human health.

Tegenaria wall

A representative of this class of arachnids can reach sizes from 7 to 14 cm. But because of its large legs, tegenaria appears even larger. This spider has a pale gray color. This arthropod is distinguished by its rapid movement over short distances.

This species is common in Asia and Africa. Tegenaria lives in caves or non-residential buildings.

Brazilian wandering spider

Another representative of arachnids, the Brazilian spider, is even among the ten most poisonous arthropods in the world. It is important to avoid encounters with this spider - its bite can be fatal if you do not take an antidote! The wandering spider measures 7 cm, and with its limbs its length is 17 cm.

Lives in Central and South America. Some representatives penetrate into people's homes, and there are also those that pursue prey in high leaps.

Cerbal Arabian

Scientists learned about the existence of this representative of arachnids literally 6 years ago. The body length of large individuals reaches 20 cm.

Cerbalus was discovered in Jordan and Israel, which is why it was named that way. These spiders are distinguished by their nocturnal lifestyle.

Giant baboon spider

In a giant baboon spider big sizes, some arthropods can grow up to 30 cm! However, despite this, individuals of this species are not dangerous to humans. They can only attack in self-defense.

Like most of its relatives, the baboon spider usually hunts at night. It kills its victims - various small insects and butterflies - with poison.

Purple tarantula

This giant spider, called the purple tarantula, lives primarily in the rainforests of Colombia. This individual can even eat bird meat. This spider is often kept by arthropod lovers as an exotic pet, since they are not dangerous to humans.

The size of the tarantula, including legs, is 34.5 cm, although there are smaller spiders - 26 cm.

Camel spider

These spiders got their name due to the presence of several humps on their heads, with which they resemble camels. The main food of these representatives of arthropods are lizards, rodents, and small birds. Some individuals can reach speeds of up to 16 km/h.

The length of the spider’s body including limbs is 30 cm.

Salmon pink tarantula spider

Breeders also like to grow salmon-pink tarantula spiders at home. The size of this representative of arthropods sometimes exceeds 30 cm!

Spiders feed on bird meat, lizards and small snakes. They have lightning speed and kill their prey instantly.

Giant Crab Spider

The Giant Crab Spider is another of the largest arachnids in the world. They received this name due to their enormous size - spiders grow up to 30 cm. They have a rather unpleasant appearance, and they are distinguished by their lightning-fast ability to kill a caught victim.

This spider is not particularly dangerous for people, but it is still better to beware of meeting it.

Goliath tarantula (Theraphosa Blonda)

And finally, the largest spider in the world is the Goliath tarantula (or Blonde's Theraphosa). These arthropods live in South America. U this representative arachnids even have two-centimeter fangs. The body length of the goliath is more than 30 cm, and it weighs 200 g.

Due to its size and heavy weight, Theraphosa Blonda is considered the largest spider on the planet. Goliaths live in burrows and feed on birds, mice and snakes. Their paralytic poison has no special effect negative influence on people.

Spiders today are among those insects that can simultaneously be called very small and the largest. Similar to this amazing creatures not in nature - this especially applies to their hunting method, namely, weaving webs. Species of spiders today are very numerous - there are about forty thousand of them, of which about three thousand live in Russia. Indeed, among the majority today it is customary to call these creatures insects, however, in fact, they form a completely separate order and class - arachnids, and belong to the type of arthropods.

Specifically, spiders can be separated from insects based on various characteristics. For example, they do not have six legs, like the first ones, but eight, and also have forelimbs equipped with poisonous claws, which are called “chelicerae”. It is with the help of them that they immobilize and kill the victim caught in their skillfully woven network. In our country, there are no deadly spiders for people; the maximum that can be obtained in response to such an encounter is a bite, burning and pain. In addition, the first spider to large objects never attacks.

Arachnids weave their webs with the help of arachnoid warts, which are located on their abdomens - there are three pairs of them. Spider digestion is interesting - it is called extraintestinal. Let's say, for comparison: predatory mantis Having caught a fly, he chews it and swallows it. The spider acts differently: it injects poison and digestive enzymes, and after two hours the caught victim turns into a ready-made “soup” that the hunter can simply drink. And one more interesting fact: The web of these creatures is surprisingly strong. If the web is made as thick as a pencil, then a real plane can crash into it and not damage it.

The world's largest spider

Most of us have actually encountered very small spiders that pose virtually no danger to humans, despite the fact that in many they still evoke a persistent feeling of disgust and even fear. lives not here, in the tropical forests of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. Single specimens of these giants were found in Brazil and Venezuela. This creature is called Theraphose Blond(in Latin - Theraphosa blondi) or simply tarantula Goliath. The body length of these small monsters reaches nine centimeters, and the limb span is 26-28 centimeters. In other words, such a spider can be the size of a dinner plate.

Belonging to the Goliath family of tarantulas, it was caught in 1965 near a village in Venezuela - its paws reached a length of 28 centimeters. For this he was included in the Guinness Book of Records. The discovery was made during an expedition led by Pablo San Martin. As for tarantulas bred in captivity, such an individual belongs to Brian Barnett: today it is over two years old, weighs 170 grams and also has a leg span of 28 centimeters. In general, Teraphosis Blond is very rare in the collections of private spider breeders. The fact is that for the reproduction and proper maintenance of individuals, special conditions are required that are as close to natural as possible, including seasonal changes in weather. Therefore, Goliaths breed very rarely in captivity. In addition, it is prohibited to export it from many countries where this species lives.

The biggest spider Theraphosa has a dark brown body and paws - all covered with small hairs. The spider prefers to live in deep burrows, which it makes itself, and lines the entrance with its own web. Tarantulas do not feed on birds at all, as some mistakenly believe, but on frogs, mice, toads, lizards and sometimes even small snakes. Goliath does not hunt with the help of a web, but builds ambushes, quickly jumping on the victim and injecting poison. The tarantula's reaction is lightning fast - from its slow movement it is quite difficult to guess this in advance if you have not seen the spider in the hunt before.

Blonde's serious competition is the most big spiders from the family Sparassidae. One such spider was accidentally found in the basement of one of the major Parisian museums - this was done by a German biologist named Peter Jaeger. He examined the museum's fund and discovered giant spider in a jar of formaldehyde - it stood among numerous other exhibits. This creature, according to records, was captured in 1939 in Laos and then stored for many years in the museum's storerooms. The paw span of the found specimen was thirty centimeters. Despite this, Goliath still remains the official record holder for leg length today.

As for the arachnid found in the museum jar, this is, of course, not the only specimen. These creatures are called in science Heteropoda maxima and quite realistically live in Laos, preferring to hide in deep and dark caves. Such spiders very rarely come to the surface, their legs are 25-30 centimeters long (longer than those of Goliaths), and their abdomen is only 3-4.5 centimeters, i.e., on the contrary, less than that of the “book” record holder. Of course, these parameters were recorded based on the caught individuals - it is difficult to guess what they actually are, because lead a very secretive life. It is quite possible that there are larger options. The species of heteropods has been studied very little by scientists - again, due to the extreme secrecy of these creatures. The color of these spiders is also brown, the legs are covered with black stripes, and there are dark spots on the abdomen. The eyes are unreduced - most likely due to the fact that these arachnids constantly live in pitch darkness.

By the way, most spiders have as many as eight eyes, less often - six, and very rarely two. Spider eyes are much simpler than those of insects, but in this case nature found its way out - this is quantity. The front, medial pair of eyes in a spider is called the main one and is structured differently from the rest, the side ones. The main eyes of the spider lack an inner membrane that refracts light, but there are special muscle bundles that move the retina. The side eyes have the opposite - there is a mirror, but no muscles. Running spiders hunt using their vision, so their vision is much better developed than that of web-weavers - the latter to a greater extent rely on tactile senses.

Returning to the topic of large arachnids, it is worth mentioning a species with a funny name banana spider. This creature is the largest of all those currently weaving webs. The size of the banana spider's body is four centimeters, and the span of its legs is 12 centimeters. Interestingly, even small birds sometimes get caught in the net of this predator, and local fishermen use it to catch fish (!). Of course, this is not done in the literal sense: first a lot of spider webs, then a large ball is formed from them and thrown into the water.

banana spider, which got its name for its yellow color and the elongated shape of its abdomen, lives in America. In general, this name means two completely different species - these are Phoneutria(South and Central America) and Nephila Clavipes(North America), however, they look a bit similar in appearance. Sometimes these spiders are also called Brazilian travelers, because they are very active and quick in action. The banana spider is one of the ten most dangerous spiders planets because of their strong poison, which can cause very painful sensations to a person, is definitely needed health care. There are cases of attack Brazilian spiders on children, which ended in the death of the latter.

The Panama wandering spider, on the contrary, does not weave webs and moves freely, never stopping anywhere for long. These individuals are often found in homes - food boxes and belongings. This species hunts in two ways - running or jumping. By the way, this arachnid also got its name because it loves fruits, in particular bananas. Its main diet consists of birds, lizards, insects and other spiders, which can even exceed it in size.

The largest spiders are found here, as well as in Ukraine and Central Asia- This South Russian tarantulas . This species belongs to the family known as wolf spiders. The body size of such a spider is about 3.5-4 centimeters, all of it is densely covered with gray hairs.

Tarantulas live mainly in burrows up to half a meter deep. These arachnids feed on large beetles, but can bite humans if disturbed. The bite will be quite painful, but not fatal.