Puppy-Sized Spider Surprises Scientist: ‘Goliath Birdeater’ Spotted In Guyana
A puppy-sized spider surprised a scientist who was walking in a rainforest in Guyana. According to Fox News, Piotr Naskrecki, an entomologist and photographer at Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, heard a rustle in nearby bush. Thinking that he’d come across a small mammal — perhaps a rat — Naskrecki was shocked when he turned on his flashlight and saw a South American Goliath birdeater: A spider species that most people wouldn’t want to see in person… ever.
“When I turned on the light, I couldn’t quite understand what I was seeing,” Naskrecki said. The brown animal is known as the biggest spider in the world.
Which is scarier – a downhill 3 footer for the match or a puppy sized spider? pic.twitter.com/Q9MDOBE266
— Andrew Rice (@AndrewRiceGolf) October 20, 2014
A puppy-sized spider would surprise anyone who wasn’t expecting to see such a thing. With each of the creature’s legs able to grow to a foot long and its body the size of a “large fist,” you can imagine just how creepy these huge arachnids look. The South American Goliath birdeater can weigh over six ounces — which is the size of a small puppy. It also has one-inch long fangs. Yikes.
According to the New York Daily News, the huge spider is “probably the only spider in the world that makes noise as it walks.” Naskrecki compared the noise to that of a horse’s hooves, so you can probably imagine exactly what these spiders sound like as they are moving through the woods.
If you are interested in seeing what these spiders look like in person, but don’t want to take a trip to the rain forests in South America, you could head over to the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Naskrecki decided to bring the “pet” back to The States and it is now on display. Nightmares are probably not optional, however, so keep that in mind!
The puppy-sized spiders surprisingly aren’t the deadliest in the world — even if they are the largest. In fact, their venom is not poisonous to humans at all. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the “honor” of deadliest spider is reserved for the Brazilian wandering spider. Just this month one of these deadly creatures was found inside the grocery bag of a woman in London.
“When countered, the spider lived up to its name and threw an aggressive stance – standing up on its hind legs and showing its fangs,” reported The Inquisitr. No one was injured inside the family’s home, but, as you can probably imagine, the situation was very serious.
[Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons]
