Today I thought I would share what is the largest spider in the world, it is the Goliath Birdeater which is a tarantula native to northern South America. It has a leg span up to about 30cm and weight is up to about 179gm.
Despite the name, it rarely eats birds; it mostly eats insects, worms, frogs, and small animals.
It is not considered deadly to humans, but its bite can be painful—often compared to a wasp sting and may cause swelling, redness, and discomfort, but its venom is generally mild for people.
Its main defence is actually flicking tiny irritating hairs from its abdomen, which can cause itching, skin irritation, or eye irritation if they get into your eyes.
So, it is dangerous if handled carelessly, but it is not usually life-threatening to humans.
It lives mainly in the humid tropical rainforests of northern South America, especially in places such as Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and northern Brazil.
Preferring warm, damp forest-floor habitats where there is plenty of leaf litter, soft soil, and cover. Rather than building webs to catch prey, it usually lives in burrows, often ones it digs itself or takes over from other animals. These burrows help it stay hidden from predators, keep moist, and avoid extreme temperatures.
It is mostly nocturnal, meaning it comes out at night to hunt insects, worms, frogs, and other small animals near the forest floor
Its lifespan depends strongly on sex as females can live a very long time for a spider — often 15 to 25 years in captivity, sometimes reported around 20+ years.
Males live much shorter lives, usually about 3 to 6 years, and often die not long after reaching maturity.
Here are a few other facts:
It makes a hissing sound: When threatened, it can rub bristles on its legs together to create a warning sound called stridulation.
It flicks irritating hairs: Instead of relying mainly on venom, it kicks tiny barbed hairs from its abdomen toward predators.
It lives in burrows: It spends much of its time hidden underground and often lines its burrow with silk.
It hunts by ambush: It does not spin a web to trap prey; it waits, then quickly grabs prey with its fangs.
Females guard egg sacs: Female Goliath birdeaters protect their egg sacs, which can contain many spiderlings.
It moults as it grows: Like other tarantulas, it sheds its outer skeleton, a vulnerable process during which it hides and avoids feeding.
If measuring by leg span only, the giant huntsman spider can sometimes rival or exceed it, but the Goliath birdeater is generally considered the largest overall.
Jo-AnneRamplings 