This Terrifying Creature Is the World's Largest Spider

Have you met Goliath the spider? With its thirty centimetre length and weighing in at up to one hundred and fifty grams on the scale, this arachnid wins the title of the biggest spider in the world hands down!

Heavyweight

You should note that it’s not actually the biggest in terms of size, and is beaten by one of its relatives. All the same: its body mass makes it a beautiful baby, but we still wouldn’t want to see crawling round our room every day.

Fortunately for those who are scared of spiders, there’s no chance of coming across one in your area! Our beautiful and big spider lives… in South America! Or more precisely, in the dense and humid forests of Colombia, Guyana and Venezuela.

A discreet spider

Even if you decide to go to one of these countries on holiday, you don’t need to worry about this spider. Goliath rarely comes out of hiding (a burrow dug in the ground) during the day.

On the contrary, he prefers to hunt at night and catch his prey with his two fearsome assets: two hooks that are two centimetres long, which inject poor victims with neurological venom.

What’s on the menu?

Whilst we’re talking about prey, what does this huge spider eat? Like all its relatives, it sticks to traditional insects and other invertebrates. But then, why do scientists call it 'Goliath the Birdeater?'

This nickname was given simply due to where it was discovered. When an explorer first came across the big arachnid, it was happily eating a poor hummingbird! Technically, Goliath the spider is actually heavy enough to attack small birds, but it’s still pretty rare.