Possibility of the existence of the Congolese giant spider

Originally posted by epitaph.one

Originally posted by Chonx
I don't think it's possible unless this particular spider has a different internal structure to all other spiders. All spiders have an exoskeleton as opposed to an endoskeleton like mammals so there would need to be some kind of rigid structure which is not found in other spiders to prevent all their internal organs from crushing each other. There is also an issue with the way spiders metabolise oxygen, they don't use haemoglobin but utilize a different chemical. basically this means that the larger the spider, the larger the tracheas would need to be and a spider of the size talked about here would be all trachea due to the relatively low levels of oxygen in the atmosphere.

of course evolution may have been able to come up with a solution so I'm not saying it's impossible, just impossible to our current understanding of all known spiders.

I forget where I read it, but spiders can grow as large as their environment allows them to. I know this doesnt counter-act your point about exoskeletons being inefficient over said size but...who knows.

I do know ive seen a "wolf spider"...you know those small, white black and grey furry ones that jump on their prey. They are always around in the summer. Ive seen one in a greenhouse that was the size of a golfball, no joke.

Golf Ball? I have seen wolf spiders larger than a sheet of paper! On the St. Mark's trail that leads from Tallahassee down to the coast at St. Marks, these things make webs 40 feet across! They build their webs about 20 feet up in the pine trees so that they miss the bicycles and joggers. From the ground they appear bigger than a hand, but when they occasionally drop and are on the ground in front of you, they are actually much BIGGER!

When a spider that is almost a 6-8 inches across, jumps out of a tree from 30 feet up, and does push ups in front of you to intimidate, it creates a prehistoric irrational fear and makes a 200lb well conditioned grown man jump and squeal like a little girl, trust me!!!

I think the 5-foot claim is a wild exaggeration, like the "50-foot" snake that turns out to be 20 feet long. I DO think there could be some huge uncatalogged (?) species in the Congo. We're talking thousands upon thousands of square miles of jungle.

reply to post by Big Raging Loner


A very creepy creature but as many have pointed out, I don't think its possible given their structure and our enviroment today.

However I will say this, I think we may be hard wired to be afraid of spiders. I should imagine that for many millions of years on our evolutionary path spiders and their ilk preyed upon us.

Originally posted by epitaph.one
I forget where I read it, but spiders can grow as large as their environment allows them to. I know this doesnt counter-act your point about exoskeletons being inefficient over said size but...who knows.

They can't grow as large as their environment allows them. Otherwise the guys who breed and sell spiders (yeah, there's an active pet business in that) and circus side shows would have spiders the size of a dinner table. I read in science books (Issac Asimov, maybe?) that the way they "hang" from their legs is another thing that limits the size (can't put too much weight on those legs) as well as the fact that they have no lungs and just sort of absorb air (I remember that from dissecting grasshoppers (eew!) in high school.

i wish i could post pics of the spiders i have here. i mean confrontations!

one that was in my bathroom, had to be 2kg at least! 1m wide and out for blood!

i used a whole can of bygon on this thing!

anyone see the 300 when they killed the rhino? just like that!

collapsed at my feet!
\
more later.

Originally posted by Helmkat
However I will say this, I think we may be hard wired to be afraid of spiders. I should imagine that for many millions of years on our evolutionary path spiders and their ilk preyed upon us.

I don't think humans were EVER that tiny! I'm pretty sure of that. And spiders were never that big. I think we find them creepy because the world isn't full of 8 legged things, but it's a trained thing.

Just think how many people (especially women) scream at the sight of a bug! That's trained... because there are societies where other people eat the same bugs.

reply to post by getreadyalready


I have heard stories of fishermen in Africa actually using spider webs as nets. I think it was the orb spider as it's web is particularly strong!

www.eurekastreet.com.au...

He constructed what appeared like the frame of an elongated squash racket from bamboo. When the racket was done he moved into the forest in search of spider's webs. I later learned that he was after the Nephila, commonly called golden-orb weavers, a genus of spiders distinguished by their impressive webs.

When he came upon the metre-wide webs, Toganiu thrust the racquet into the hubs and twirled the sticky strands around the bamboo frames. When the racket was full, he rolled them off and divided them into wads, about six inches in length.

He fashioned a kite out of pandanus leaf to which he attached a line baited with a wad of spider's web. He launched his small outrigger canoe from the beach while I watched from the shore.

It is hard enough to maintain balance on a small outrigger, let alone manoeuvre it while flying a kite in strong winds. Toganiu positioned the kite so that the wad of webs skimmed over the water. The web acts as a lure, an imitation of a flying fish. It entices garfish to leap and grab the lure in its sharp needle teeth. The kite is reeled in and the catch secured.

So not Africa as I had thought but off the eastern coast of New Guinea. I am sure this fishing method is not solely endemic to here though. It certainly does make me feel that massive webs of incredible tensile strength are completely possible!

Regardless of a spider's size.
It won't bite you unless provoked.
People are designed the same way.
though have a conscience to lead their way.
It is time to use it.
Is it not?

The layout and systems that make up a spider's body would make it impossible to get bigger than 2 feet across, and a spider that big would suffocate because even in the jungles there would not be enough oxygen.

Alternatively, this giant Congolese spider might not actually be a spider at all. It might be an entirely new class of arthropods that has the required lung and exoskeleton structure to support its enormus size. It could also be a (land) crustacean; japanese spider crabs have known to grow to 12 feet across, with unconfirmed reports of up to 18 feet.

[edit on 13-8-2010 by Xammu]

Thanks fooks I will have to wait for the DVD I think...

On the subject of our brains being hardwired to fear spiders, snakes etc. It is entirely possible that this instinct predates the dawn of man entirely.

There are many traits which through the process of evolution we have developed and maintained which became intrinsic to our nature from when we were smaller mammals. There are still many of these subconscious instincts that are completely 'useless' today yet we still have them!

Originally posted by Perseus Apex
Regardless of a spider's size.
It won't bite you unless provoked.
People are designed the same way.
though have a conscience to lead their way.
It is time to use it.
Is it not?

Or hungry!

A spider 5 feet across is surely eating live animals. Many spiders eat rodents. A human is not very well equipped to fend off an 8 legged creature with sticky appendages and super strength. We would make a much easier meal than say a boar, or a deer, or a monkey!

Also, we often provoke other species unintentionally. What if we happen to be between that spider and its home? What if it just doesn't like your perfume that day? Or your shiny belt buckle?

HEEBBEEEEE JEEEEBBEEEES I don't even like to think about looking at a spider that big within jumping distance of me!

okay i am enjoying learning here what if the oxygen level problem is not as mucha factor because the body of the spider is not perportioned to the legs a giant daddy long legs type giant legs small body hense less oxygen then expected to grow so large.

god i hate spiders

reply to post by Chonx


Exactly! And were on earth would oxygen gas be at it highest (besides oceans) but a rain forest!

reply to post by Big Raging Loner


The witness report you posted was from 1938 which is like 72 years ago.... don't you think there would have been other reports of such things?

Ok, sorry if the link provides more recent viewings as i didnt read it but i'm assuming there isnt a later report otherwise you would have put that up so i'm gonna have to go with 'no way'....

RAMA comes to mind....

reply to post by Indellkoffer


I don't think the fear of spiders is conditioned,I'm a girl and definitely don't scream at the sight of bugs,or snakes,or mice,but when i see a spider i fell horror,there is something about arachnophobia that i believe is hardwired in our brain and has to do with survival,something like fear of the dark.Some time ago i was at a family dinner with my boyfriend,he was sitting next to me and his aunt pointed across the table at us and said "oh look your t-shirt is so nice,there is a spider....."I screamed and jumped of the table,but she was pointing at my boyfriends shirt who had spider print on it.I felt sooo embarrassed.

reply to post by Big Raging Loner

The size of the Congolese Giant spider-when its legs are included-is said to be up to five feet across.

That's it...I'm leaving Earth.

Anyone know when the next shuttle takes off???

Originally posted by Big Raging Loner
Thanks fooks I will have to wait for the DVD I think...

On the subject of our brains being hardwired to fear spiders, snakes etc. It is entirely possible that this instinct predates the dawn of man entirely.

There are many traits which through the process of evolution we have developed and maintained which became intrinsic to our nature from when we were smaller mammals. There are still many of these subconscious instincts that are completely 'useless' today yet we still have them!

i agree but we overcome.

true story, my wife was driving our mazda 626, 4door, not a small car, not a big car.

lol, ok, freakin snake in the road, my god! panics, pedal to the metal lol, wtf!

honey! grab the wheel and calm her down!

check the car for the snake after we park.


no really, i do have pics of serious hunter spiders i have engaged in battle.
score is 2 to 1.



so ya, unusual phobia for sure.

reply to post by Big Raging Loner


Hiya, sorry was stuck in the office working.

To be honest I've never heard of 'The Chicken Eating Spider' & I dont think you'll find it on any T or proper spider sites. For example, most of mine are fed occasionally on Mice but that doesnt make them Mouse eating spiders & the Bird eating species don't hunt birds. They were first discovered when a scientist found one eating a humming bird yet they are very rarely almost never seen eating birds & the humming bird was probably already dead or dying. My species of birdeater has also been found in the wild eating the deadly pit Viper! Most T's will also eat steak (Not straight off the cow of course)!
In all fairness most Tarantulas could kill a dog in 20 mins from the venom but probably wont try & eat it as the dog would be long gone.

As for the youtube clip there are around 850 species of Tarantula so without a clear examination & knowing where it was filmed it could be anything & there are a lot of T's that look like that one. Just type in black tarantula into google images & you'll see what I mean.

5 ft spider? hahaha That's all I can say on that.

Its so nice to read a thread that's not all about doom, gloom & 'WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!'

Everythings ok people.



[edit on 13-8-2010 by dubs2000uk]

By the way if anyone saw the documentary Lost Land of the Jaguar where 4 uk scientists & nature photographers went to an un explored part of Borneo would have seen prof George McGavin find a Goliath birdeater the size of a small dinner plate in the entrance to her burrow. He coaxed her out & picked her straight up, no worrys.
If you can get to see this doc online, watch it. Great tv.

King Crabs are giant spiders! and we love to eat them!! embrace the spider! its tasty.

and if I thought any of you were "easy to take advantage of" girls, I'd spider tale you to death