Huge Spider Discovered...

[M.D. Holloway]

Meet the Tarantula as Big as Your Face

With a leg span of 8 inches (20 centimeters) and enough venom to kill mice, lizards, small birds and snakes, according to Sky News, the crawler is covered in subtle markings of gray, pink and daffodil yellow.

And its been known to chase down people who drive Smart Cars...

[M.D. Holloway]

and on a similar note...Ewwww! Photos of Bat-Eating Spiders | LiveScience

[john70t]

Some island off India. "Everything's bigger in Texas" huh

[Hawkeye's-911T]

Buf!

[gacook]

Still small compared to some other spiders out there...

There's some bird-eating spider down in South America (don't remember exactly where) that's pretty damn big, and of course, there's always the camel spider--big, ugly, and nasty!

[masraum]

and of course, there's always the camel spider--big, ugly, and nasty!

Camel spiders are not actually spiders, but they are related to spiders and scorpions

[cashflyer]

And are not terribly big.

[gacook]

Originally Posted by cashflyer

And are not terribly big.

Helluva lot bigger than 8 inches...

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by gacook

Helluva lot bigger than 8 inches...

You're lucky to find one over 3 inches. I bet the biggest ever found is only about 5 inches. The ones we have here (yes, they live in the USA too...) are only about an inch.

Don't believe the interwebs...

[gacook]

OK if I believe my own eyes? I've spent over 3 years in the ME, and have seen many of the bastards.

[cashflyer]

I've been goin back and forth to the ME deserts for the last 4 years. I've never seen one bigger than a dinar note. National Geographic says that even the Egyptian Giant Solpugids (which has Giant in the name) are only about 6 inches long. Article Link

The infamous photo of the soldier holding two camel spiders up in a photograph is an optical illusion called forced perspective.

Average:



Above average:

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by gacook

OK if I believe my own eyes? I've spent over 3 years in the ME, and have seen many of the bastards.

The sun is getting to ya then, because they ain't over 8 inches. If there was ever a camel spider that big, it would be so well documented and preserved in a collection that everyone would know about it. Maybe they just seem big when they're running across the desert at 40+ mph.

[masraum]

Maybe they just seem big when they're running across the desert at 40+ mph

Or 10 mph

[gacook]

Originally Posted by cashflyer

Above average:

I gotta admit, that's a pretty F'ing awesome "camel spider," and earned a chuckle out of me. Well played, sir.