Stats

Lifespan: 15-25 yrs
Size: Huge
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Nocturnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Range: Northern South America
Movement: Walking
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Spines
Status: Vulnerable

About

The Goliath Birdeater is the world's largest spider by mass, with a leg span reaching up to 30 cm and a body weighing over 170 grams. Native to South American rainforests, it creates silk-lined burrows and defends itself by stridulating loudly and flicking barbed urticating hairs from its abdomen.

Life cycle

1.
egg sac
A silk-wrapped egg sac shelters a clutch of eggs until the young are ready to emerge.
2.
juvenile
A spiderling emerges from the egg sac already in miniature adult form and starts catching prey almost immediately.
3.
subadult
A near-adult arachnid molts through several instars, growing larger and developing mature markings.
4.
adult
Fully grown after its final molt.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Theraphosidae
Genus: Theraphosa
Species: Theraphosa blondi