Gotta be worth something.
Harvard Entomologist Piotr Naskrecki recently posted on his blog about an encounter in Guyana’s rainforest with a South American Goliath birdeater, a spider so large it’s the size of a small dog or puppy. According to Naskreski, “Their leg span approaches 30 cm (nearly a foot) and they weigh up to 170 g.”
I will spare my more sensitive readers and not provide a photo; suffice it to say, it’s a BIG HONKING SPIDER and it doesn’t fear adventuring parties… err, ‘people.’ Not a web-spinner, alas. Then again… when you’re a spider that eats birds, do you need a web?
Moe Lane
PS: It also hisses. Also: assuming that it can get across the Panama Canal – which it probably cold – it can walk from Guyana to almost anywhere in North America. Pleasant dreams!