Giant huntsman spider facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Giant huntsman spider |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification |
The giant huntsman spider (Heteropoda maxima) is a species of the huntsman spider family Sparassidae found in Laos. It is considered the world's largest spider by leg span, which can reach up to 30 cm (1 ft).
Description
The colouration is yellowish-brown with several irregularly distributed dark spots on the rear half. The legs have wide dark bands before the first bend. Like all huntsman spiders, the legs of the giant huntsman spider are long compared to the body, and twist forward in a crab-like fashion.
The giant huntsman spider is the largest member of the family Sparassidae, boasting a 30 centimetres (12 inches) leg-span, and 4.6 centimetres (1.8 inches) body-length. The largest known member of the Sparassidae known prior to the discovery of H. maxima was the Australian Beregama aurea (L. Koch, 1875) with a body length of about 4 centimeters (1.6 inches). (Other relatively large members of Sparassidae have been discovered in recent years, including Cerbalus aravaensis, the largest in the Middle East).
Taxonomy and naming
Heteropoda maxima was first described in 2001 by Peter Jäger, after being discovered in a cave in Laos. Over a thousand new species of plant and animal were found between 1997 and 2007 in the Greater Mekong Subregion.
A representative of the World Wide Fund for Nature stated that "some of these species really have no business being recently discovered", suggesting that it is surprising for such a large species to go undiscovered for so long.
Distribution and habitat
The giant huntsman spider is found in Laos, and is believed to be a cave dweller because of its pale colour, long legs and special hairs on the second foot of the male. There is no apparent reduction of the eyes, possibly because the species lives near cave entrances.
See also
In Spanish: Heteropoda maxima para niños
- Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi), largest known spider in the world by mass
- Mongolarachne jurassica, the largest known fossilized spider
- Cerbalus aravaensis, a huntsman spider found in Israel and Jordan
