Giant Spiders anyone?

I have accumulated many first-hand reports from people over the last 30 years, of strange creature sightings. Most strange creatures eventually have more than one person spotting them - but one such sighting has remained alone.
I seek information on anyone who has had a sighting of giant spiders, (especially in Australia). I hope to God I never meet one, but I want to know if anyone has ever heard of any other sightings. I read Fortean Times and lurk on many related lists, so I know the "field" of cryptozoology pretty well.

Go dance in the Hawaiin Sugar Cane fields, they got some super friendly buggers out their =)

Or maybe the Mexico desert, there the treacherous screaming Camel Spiders lurk =D

Oh, can't forgot the Bird Spiders in the South American jungels that can consume whole birds, and even small mammals!

Don't ever pee in the amazon either, a vampire fish can swim right up your urine stream.

Heh.

The world is filled with much we don't know about, hell, we're stuck in the house most of the time.

The smaller the meaner, I got bit by a brown recluse in San Luis Obispo, California, and my thigh had a swelling the size of a quarter. Some yummy puss came out of that wound.

Good day.

I have spiders in the bush near me in country se Queensland, that makes webs that catch birds and small bats. We have deadly spiders and snakes aplenty. I saw a red-bellied black snake on my way to lunch today in fact. It is in the top 10 most poisonous snakes in the world according to at least one documentary I have seen. Luckily they are not aggressive.
I'm looking for reports of significantly larger sized specimens.
Duncan

reply to post by nexusmagazine


What exactly is your definition of a "giant spider"? Are we talking plate sized or Lord of the Ring sized "giant"?

Originally posted by TheRealYoda7
Or maybe the Mexico desert, there the treacherous screaming Camel Spiders lurk =D

You do know the whole "screaming Camel Spider" thing is a myth right? And they're not limited to the Mexican desert. They're found in most deserts all over the world excluding Australia. And technically speaking they're not spiders.

Originally posted by TheRealYoda7
Don't ever pee in the amazon either, a vampire fish can swim right up your urine stream.

They're called ‎Candiru fish, or also canero, toothpick fish, or willy fish, penis fish. Not "vampire fish".

Okay, my definition of a giant spider is either a stout hairy variety starting at the size of an alsatian dog - up to any reports of Sheelob size and shape variety.
I already got plate-sized flat hairy ones called "Huntsman" spiders (or something like that). They come inside a lot. Outside I have a variety of Golden Orb species, funnelweb spiders, wolf spiders, mouse spiders and scores of others. Needless to say, I never walk around my yard in bare feet.
Duncan

Originally posted by nexusmagazine
Okay, my definition of a giant spider is either a stout hairy variety starting at the size of an alsatian dog - up to any reports of Sheelob size and shape variety.
I already got plate-sized flat hairy ones called "Huntsman" spiders (or something like that). They come inside a lot. Outside I have a variety of Golden Orb species, funnelweb spiders, wolf spiders, mouse spiders and scores of others. Needless to say, I never walk around my yard in bare feet.
Duncan

Any chance you could catch one of those mouse spiders and send it my way? U2U me if you think you can... Any other large species would be cool too, like the huntsman... Although, the mouse spider would be the coolest...

Also I don't think anything larger than what we already know about exists... Maybe in a deep cave somewhere.. Who knows...


[edit on 7-5-2008 by ElectricUncleSam]

I saw a wolf spider once on a tour of the caverns at Kelleys island off the Sandusky coast in Ohio. It was as big as a large man's hand. Hairy and vile looking. Had the unfortune of being bit by a brown recluse myself. Never so sick in my life.
Did I mention I HATE spiders?

Yeah, I hate and despise spiders myself - mostly because they look creepy and I hate their bites. I leave them be unless they come in the house. As long as I believe I can catch them I do not kill them.

My method is to have a clear drinking glass and then a trap them under the glass on a flat surface as the wall, floor or ceiling- then I take a piece of junk mail (thin cardboard) and slide it under the glass (to cover the open end). Then I transport them outside and let them go.

I figure I get better Karma with them that way and maybe they'll eat a few pesky mosquitoes for me. I believe that that spider I let live, might just be the one that keeps it's species alive or another species from getting out of hand along when you include its ancestors down the line. Who knows maybe they'll save us someday. I don't kill anything unless it's in the process of attempting to take a chunk out of me. Then its kill or be killed/wounded.

I think Crabs are like spiders of the ocean and those King Crabs they get in Alaska somtimes have a legspan as big as a mans. Can you imagine if we had spiders that big on land - they would be damn spooky. But damn them big ocean spider legs are so scrumptious dipped in hot butter.


[edit on 7-5-2008 by verylowfrequency]

Spiders the size of dogs is highly unlikely.

In 1980 a fossil was discovered of the Megarachne Servinei in Argentina. It was described as the "biggest spider ever" and the size of a small dog with the leg span of about 20 inches (50 cm). Researches however discovered later that megarachne was not of the spider family but rather a water scorpion.
Wiki Article

So that leaves the record to the Goliath Birdeater, about the size of a dinner plate.

There's also the Giant Sea Spider with a leg span of 20 inches, but alas it's not a true spider nor will you find it in your back yard.

All that said, do you have some more information about these "reported sightings" of the "giant spiders"?

reply to post by Gaspode


Thanks for the linky Gaspode. I didn't realize tarantulas had barbed hairs that they released and used as a weapon. Now, I hate spiders even more. I've always wanted to spend some time in the jungle of South America, but 12" inch spiders would scare me more than the bears we have up here.

I've hallucinated giant spiders on several occasions after suddenly waking up (I was not on drugs or meds at the time)
Each experience went roughly like this - Awoke suddenly, giant spider/s seem to be already there as I become aware of the room, they move in all directions and disappear (some fade away, others interact with the environment in different ways like crawling around a wall, leaping into painting or compressing themselves behind the clock). The whole thing is over in about 4 seconds.
The spiders were the size of large dogs, moved extremely fast and freaked the hell out of me. The whole experience was frighteningly realistic and if not for the strange way they dissapeared I would have thought they were real. Does anyone know much about this type of hallucinatory experience?


p.s. Duncan, have been a nexus fan since I found a couple of issues in my Grans caravan as a little lad, keep up the good work

Sorry to break it to you but giant insects are pretty much impossible.
They would burst their skins.

Insects lack the ability to form a thick enough skin. And I believe the innerds are more fluidic and less solidly compartmentalized than larger animals. With the increase in size the area increases algebraicly while the surface increases geometricly.

Soon the contents are too much strain for the bag and Plop! Out come the guts.

Originally posted by Cyberbian
Sorry to break it to you but giant insects are pretty much impossible.
They would burst their skins.

Insects lack the ability to form a thick enough skin. And I believe the innerds are more fluidic and less solidly compartmentalized than larger animals. With the increase in size the area increases algebraicly while the surface increases geometricly.

Soon the contents are too much strain for the bag and Plop! Out come the guts.

Actually, spiders are arachnids, not insects.

Duncan

You are a better man than me vlf. I kill them spot on in the house. My revulsion of them is phobic. The quirky thing is 'I can feel their presense'. I know that sounds insane.

Here's a Goliath in action, poor mouse.

Not a big fan of the arachnids...

Yup, Cyberbian is correct (well apart from the Arachnids being Insects bit corrected by nexusmagazine).

The size a spider can reach is limited by their exoskeleton. They also have an open circulatory system, so are pretty much filled with fluid. Even 12" goliath bird eaters are reaching the limit. If they fall from a height more than the length of their own leg span then they burst.

I've got 4 tarantulas and have kept them for years. The largest is a salmon pink birdeater who's reaching 9" now. I'm scared [snip] of her and she's still got a few inches to go!

Seriously, I would recommend tarantulas as a great pet, if you get a nice docile species like the good old Grammostola Rosea (Chile Rose). I've got 2 and neither would ever even think of kicking hairs, never ming trying to tag me. It's like any animal, You learn to read them and their moods. If their not up for it, then they're left alone.

Plus you only need to clean them out once a year and feed them once a week, if that. Better than a goldfish any day!

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[edit on 7-5-2008 by Gemwolf]

And if anyone is interested in seeing what I think is one of the most beautiful creatures on earth, check this out. My next purchase hopefully.




It aint a cryptid, but when you describe it to people it sounds like one!

Isn't there the possibility that such sightings (the few ones that are true unknowns and not fake or misunderstood sightings of normal critters) aren't those of a Uber Spider but perhaps some different Mammal or other animal cryptid (that can grow large due to different body systems) that happens to have "Fake" limbs or appendages as a means of defence ? like if attacked on one of them shed it and run off similar to how some reptiles loose/ drop their tails when attacked or scared enough (though with the reptiles they don't grow back to the sizes that they were initially).

Thought Uber spiders would be awesome :-), one can dream though :-|

[edit on 7-5-2008 by Marshall Ormus]

If I remember my biology class well enough (And I surely MAY NOT, so don't take this for gospel) poor circulatory systems would also limit such animals' sizes.

I remember as a kid maybe 11 years old being at this pond where they had a single fishing spider in it.Whats the actually size of them today i have no idea but i caught it and i swear this spider somehow got out of the bucket and it was bigger then the span of my hand maybe the size of a small plate.