Giant huntsman spider
Encyclopedia
The giant huntsman spider (, from , meaning “the largest”) is a spider
of the Heteropoda
genus
.
It is considered the world's largest spider by leg-span. The Goliath birdeater
may be the largest by mass.
-like fashion.
Apart from its size, the H. maxima can be distinguished from other species of Heteropoda by genital characteristics: On males, the cymbium
is much longer than usual, at least three times longer than the tegulum. The female is distinguished by a characteristically shaped epigyneal field with two anterior directed bands, and the course of their internal ducts.
The giant huntsman spider is the largest member of the Sparassidae family, boasting a 30 centimeter (12 inch) leg-span, and 4.6 centimeter (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.
, and is probably 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, however, possibly because the species lives near cave entrances.
.
A representative of the World Wide Fund for Nature
quipped that "Some of these species really have no business being recently discovered," suggesting that it is surprising for a species this large to go undiscovered for so long.
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
of the Heteropoda
Heteropoda
The Heteropoda are a pantropical genus of spiders. There are hundreds of member species.-Species:Heteropoda acuta - Davies, 1994HHeteropoda amphora - Fox, 1936 Heteropoda dagmarae - Jäger & Vedel, 2005...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
.
It is considered the world's largest spider by leg-span. The Goliath birdeater
Goliath birdeater
The Goliath bird-eater Spider is an arachnid belonging to the tarantula group, Theraphosidae, and is considered to be the second largest spider in the world , and they may be the biggest by mass...
may be the largest by mass.
Appearance
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 crabCrab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
-like fashion.
Apart from its size, the H. maxima can be distinguished from other species of Heteropoda by genital characteristics: On males, the cymbium
Pedipalp
Pedipalps , are the second pair of appendages of the prosoma in the subphylum Chelicerata. They are traditionally thought to be homologous with mandibles in Crustacea and insects, although more recent studies Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi), are the second pair of appendages of the...
is much longer than usual, at least three times longer than the tegulum. The female is distinguished by a characteristically shaped epigyneal field with two anterior directed bands, and the course of their internal ducts.
The giant huntsman spider is the largest member of the Sparassidae family, boasting a 30 centimeter (12 inch) leg-span, and 4.6 centimeter (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.
Distribution and habitat
The giant huntsman spider is found in LaosLaos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, and is probably a cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
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, however, possibly because the species lives near cave entrances.
Discovery
The giant huntsman spider was discovered in northern Laos in 2001. Over a thousand new species of plant and animal were found between 1997 and 2007 in the Greater Mekong SubregionGreater Mekong Subregion
The Greater Mekong Subregion is not a geological region, but rather, a development project mooted by the Asian Development Bank in 1992 that brought together the riparian states of the Mekong River basin, namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Yunnan Province of China...
.
A representative of the World Wide Fund for Nature
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
quipped that "Some of these species really have no business being recently discovered," suggesting that it is surprising for a species this large to go undiscovered for so long.
See also
- Goliath birdeaterGoliath birdeaterThe Goliath bird-eater Spider is an arachnid belonging to the tarantula group, Theraphosidae, and is considered to be the second largest spider in the world , and they may be the biggest by mass...
(Theraphosa blondi), formerly considered to be the largest spider in the world. - Nephila jurassicaNephila jurassicaNephila jurassica is an extinct species of spider in the family Nephilidae, which contains the golden silk orb-weavers. The species is known only from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation, part of the Daohugou Beds, near the village of Daohugou in Ningcheng County, northeastern China.-History...
, the largest known fossilised spider