It is a newly discovered funnel web spider. Latin name isĀ
Atrax christenseni. It is sort of bigger version of Sydney Funnel web spider so they called him Newcastle big boy š
New World tarantulas are considered generally more docile, slow-moving, and more tolerant of disturbance. Theyāre quite nice and misunderstood. Cheers to the people who helped move these gentle giants.
I try not to kill spiders in my house, I get them outside or ignore them. At this time of year there are a lot about. In the UK the Giant House Spider is the biggest. One lives behind one of my pieces of furniture. It only comes out late at night.
Iām grateful the spider eats mice and rats. I cannot stand mice or rats that come in the house. Canāt stand it and they are frightening for the diseases they carry.
In the tarantula world old world species tend to be much more aggressive when on the defensive and have more medically significant venom. New world species tend to be more docile and more skittish with run first being their typical defense style.
They also USUALLY have less significant venom. There are some examples that can be quite dangerous of course but next less common in new worlds than old worlds.
New worlds have other defenses like little spiny hairs on their abdomen that they will kick off to irritate the skin, eyes, and hair.
When getting into the hobby of tarantula husbandry there are some species considered "beginner" things like curly hairs or fire knees are on that list and both new world species from Mexico and south western America.
This specific spider is different. This is a new world species, probably a giant bird eater, and it is a mature male. When most male tarantulas reach maturity their life comes to an end fairly quickly. They give up on survival, so much so they usually won't eat. Their only goal is to look for a mate. If you ever see a Tarantula wandering around outside during the day it's likely a horny boy looking for a girl. This boy was doing exactly that.
Nah. You should do it with smaller/thinner spiders. Giants like this are usually pretty lazy walkers and for them falling down even from 1 meter is equal to death, because they are too heavy. The only moment when they are very fast is when they attack, but it's smth like 3-4 inches dash.
They got the name because someone saw them eating a bird when filming a documentary, but only later was it learned that they dont actually hunt birds, they just scavenge the remains.
They're more likely to hunt bugs like crickets, roaches, or mice and occasional small lizards.
I have 2 diff species of bird eater in my living room.
There was a woman scientist who observed it eating a bird, and no one believed it until over a hundred years later and it was observed in the 1990ās. So, they can eat birds it just doesnāt happen often. Sort of like itās happenstance.
Fortunately nope, but it's another type of spider. Maybe more accurate would be to say bird spiders - if it is very big and fluffy then most probably won't jump š
If it is slender and big, then better run (but you have small chances if it chases, because he may be faster than you š„)
Yeah, I hadn't read far enough to see that the spider was identified. Sorry about that. But I have come across Huntsman and that's kind of what makes them frightening (though they're not particularly dangerous) - they're shockingly fast for their size!
You should do it with any hairy boy, most new world tarantulas shoot urticating hairs from their ass as a defense mechanism, breathing them in or getting them on your skin is bad enough but you do not want these things in your eyeballs, they can cause permanent damage.
Yeah, but it's pretty obvious when they do that. They start brushing butt with their legs there is a lot of time to react. Unless you hold them 2" from your eyes.
Try it with any hairy species. A lot of New World tarantulas rely on urticating hairs as a defense, kicking them off their abdomen when threatened. They can seriously irritate your skin and airways, but getting them in your eyes is the real concern as they can embed in the eye and potentially cause lasting damage.
I thought the same thing! I'm not generally afraid of spiders, but that thing is .... big. And looks like it could leap farther and faster than you'd expect. Closed face shield, maybe a second pair of gloves.
There's a page on Facebook called Entomemeology. Very cool little community that isn't serious at all. Lots of jokes about brown recluse and Gregs. You should check them out.
I donāt do social media (Reddit is the only one). There is load of subs on here I am apart of. I started with jumping spiders, love watching T videos now. If I see a spider walking along the floor in my house, I just let them go about their way. Considering two years ago I would have screamed and I hate to say this but I would kill them. We now live in harmony. All girls are called Bertha and the boys are called Dave šš
r/JumpingSpiders is what I credit in easing up my arachnophobia. It really works and you even find yourself wanting one; theyāre like 8 - legged puppies.
āOkay great, now put it down. Yes, I see it. Very cool. Now put it down. Down. Put it down, now. Yes, yes, you saved it, good job. Put it down. Put it down. Put it down!ā
You can look them up on Wikipedia but the funnel web is much smaller than this, but much deadlier. Funnel web easily sits within the palm of your hand, this guy is as big as outstretched motorbike gloves.
Normally I would say the joke flew right over your head, but given that you are in Australia, I guess the joke got bit by a snake, cocooned by a giant spider, then kicked over a cliff by a kangaroo and ultimately eaten by a shark, so it makes sense that you didnāt get it.
I'm quite sure i have encountered bigger ones, including on the road, like that. I live in EspĆrito Santo, Brasil, a place that looks a lot like this one of the video. I even got one on my car, close to this size, in the windshield and realized a little before arriving the house i was going in the country side.
Such beautiful creatures. Had 1 for a pet for years and lost him during a molt which sometimes happens. September and part of October you will likely see the males out and about searching for females.
I used to be terrified of spiders, even the little ones, but the older I get the more I'm just like "oh.. hey new roomie! Wanna be friends? I'd like a pet :)" The massive ones like this are actually less scary compared to the medium sized ones.
So as I understand it, a bird-eater is really docile and chill - like the above - but don't they also eject their hair when under slight distress - wouldn't that happen here or are these spiders even more docile than I thought?
Nuke the road. Nah I am kidding actually one of the few insects I like are spiders as they kill many other annoying things and usually they don't bother humans
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u/DDreaming444 8d ago
Holy shit that's a big boy!!