Giant huntsman spider facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Giant huntsman spider |
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The giant huntsman spider (Heteropoda maxima) is a really big spider! It belongs to the huntsman spider family and lives in Laos, a country in Southeast Asia. This amazing creature is known as the world's largest spider when you measure its leg span. Its legs can stretch out to about 30 cm (1 ft), which is like the length of a school ruler!
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Description
What Does the Giant Huntsman Spider Look Like?
This spider has a yellowish-brown color. It also has some dark spots scattered on its back half. Its long legs have wide, dark bands just before they bend. Like all huntsman spiders, its legs are very long compared to its body. They also twist forward, making the spider look a bit like a crab.
How Big Can It Get?
The giant huntsman spider is the biggest spider in its family, called Sparassidae. Its legs can spread out to an incredible 30 centimetres (12 inches)! Its body itself is about 4.6 centimetres (1.8 inches) long. Before this spider was discovered, the largest known huntsman spider was the Australian Beregama aurea. That one had a body length of about 4 centimeters (1.6 inches).
Discovery and Naming
How Was This Huge Spider Found?
The Heteropoda maxima was first described in 2001 by a scientist named Peter Jäger. It was found hiding in a cave in Laos. Between 1997 and 2007, over a thousand new types of plants and animals were discovered in the Greater Mekong Subregion. This area is rich in different species.
A representative from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) mentioned how surprising it was to find such a large spider so recently. It's rare for such a big creature to stay hidden from scientists for so long!
Where Does It Live?
The Giant Huntsman Spider's Home
The giant huntsman spider lives in Laos. Scientists believe it lives in caves. This is because of its pale color and very long legs. Males also have special hairs on their second foot, which might help them in dark cave environments. It seems to live near the entrances of caves. This might be why its eyes are still normal and not smaller, like those of animals that live deep inside dark caves.
See also
In Spanish: Araña cazadora gigante para niños
- Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi), the world's largest spider by weight.
- Mongolarachne jurassica, the largest known spider found as a fossil.
- Cerbalus aravaensis, another large huntsman spider found in the Middle East.
