![]() Which is why the Goliath birdeater has a different tactic for shooing away would-be predators: hair missiles. Even though they have long fangs that can pierce human skin, their venom isn't particularly toxic to us, or indeed to many would-be rainforest foes. They are truly gigantic, but relatively harmless to humans. Native to northern South America, this rainforest tarantula weighs about as much as a hockey puck and has a body length comparable to a mid-sized smartphone - not to mention a leg span of about 12 inches (30 centimeters). The Goliath birdeater? Well, this spider is huge, but it doesn't eat birds often enough to warrant the name.īut at least half of the Goliath birdeater's name is accurate - it's a real giant: the largest and heaviest spider in the world. For instance, a flying fox is just a big bat, ringworm is actually a fungal infection, jellyfish aren't fish, and sure, anteaters eat ants, but they consume more termites and other insect larvae than ants. Yikes! PetlinDmitry/ShutterstockĬommon names of animals aren't known for their precision, and sometimes they're just plain misleading. But urban legends never die – there's always someone who swears it happened to an unnamed "friend.The Goliath birdeater spider ( Theraphosa blondi) weighs in as the world's largest and heaviest spider. No one has ever explained how they measured speed or jumping height, and of course no one has ever produced a specimen found eating human or camel flesh. One person offered to have his brother in Iraq send me a 30-cm specimen, but backed down when the brother claimed he couldn't get an export permit. But that doesn't oblige me to believe every tall tale I hear from someone who never, under any circumstances, can give the name of the person it happened to! If the source is an unnamed person ("my nephew," "someone who just returned from Iraq," "shepherds we spoke to," "a Marine," "an airman,"), that's not evidence! And why not? They deserve all the diversions they can get. I have the utmost respect for soldiers but I also know a few, and know that one of their favorite pastimes is sitting around spinning yarns. I have received (by email) a lot of abuse for doubting these stories – mainly from civilians who probably think it's unpatriotic to doubt the word of a soldier. Any ill effects could be prevented with disinfectant.) See this article for National Geographic's take on camel spider myths. They positively have no venom, and no way to inject it even if they did have it! (If they bite and manage to break the skin, the wound is likely to be infected, and such cases may have started some of the stories. Their anatomy and physiology are well known. The species in Iraq were studied in Iraq by British scientists during the 39 years (1919-58) the country was under British control. Some species can produce a barely audible stridulation (sounding like a buzz or hiss). When they run toward someone standing in the hot desert sun (or toward their camel or into their tent) they are seeking out shade to hide in. They lay their eggs in the soil, not in camels! They are predatory and do not feed off large animals like camels or humans. ![]() Any jumping ability they might have is nothing special. The maximum speed cited in scientific sources is ten miles per hour, and the only accurately measured speeds I could find were less than 1 mile per hour. This builds on a previous myth that spread during the Gulf War. ![]()
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