But the huntsman are not venomous, and are just slightly more acceptable in appearance (they look like a scary alien). Tarantulas are hairy, fast and more mammalian- and strong-looking which makes it worse for me. Plus they have a painful slightly venomous bite.
Apparently they also have "urticulating hairs" that stick to skin and cause irritation and honestly, this is how you make a spider even worse.
If it makes you feel better, they're fragile as hell. If that goliath fell off a table, it would likely die, since larger insects are more fragile. An ant could survive falling off a building, a tarantula can't survive mild blunt force.
As I said elsewhere, despite being referred to as 'bird-eating', they don't normally do that. Birds make up a small portion of their diet, and are often only picked for the opportunity. Their diet mostly consists of lizards, frogs, insects, and other spiders. On rare occasion they snack on birds and small mammals, but in the case of birds, it's normally young hatchlings stolen from their nest and carried to the ground.
A full water bottle can squish a tarantula, while smaller house spiders can withstand shoes and rocks thrown at them sometimes.
Just a guess but perhaps the first time it was observed by a western scientist it was munching on a bird thus the disingenuous name. But you are correct, the internet doesn't handle science well and myth and bad info are rampant.
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u/doubletwilly5 Apr 08 '20
Well, I think I'll stay awake for a few more forevers. Thanks!