Are Australian spiders really that big?

[Orks da best]

Yes, yes they are. That one was trying to hitch-hike with me. It's a baby, by the way.

That's a baby???

I am never going there!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEE!!!!!

"runs away while screaming like a little girl..."

 

[MasterOfHisOwnDomain]

The big spiders are the bird-eating tarantulas, which we do have, though they're not as big as South America, I think.

I'm pretty sure they aren't as big as continent, yes. That would present quite a problem... =P

 

[Zeriah]

Not really, the only large spiders I ever find in my house are Huntsman spiders. Other than that the rest are small. Of course there are other large spiders in Australia, but Hunstman are the only semi-common ones I've encountered.

Please tell me how a spider that large manages to get through windows/doors without you noticing.

I can't figure out how...

A quote from the Australian Museum Website:

Many huntsman spiders, especially Delena (the flattest), and including Isopeda, Isopedella and Holconia, have rather flattened bodies adapted for living in narrow spaces under loose bark or rock crevices. This is aided by their legs which, instead of bending vertically in relation to the body, have the joints twisted so that they spread out forwards and laterally in crab-like fashion ('giant crab spiders')

Basically they are the contortionists in the spider world, they can basically get into anywhere they want, nowhere is safe.

 

[Kelz0r]

The biggest spiders I've seen living naturally around here are hobo spiders and wolf spiders. I have no idea how big they are, but to give you some idea, I usually try to trap them under water glasses and I run the risk of cutting off their legs when I do that, if I'm not really careful.

If I saw a bigger spider than that in my house, I would probably abandon my house.

 

[ultimateownage]

If I saw a spider that big I would literally shit myself and cry.
It's not funny, I just breakdown when I'm near a spider bigger than half a centimetre large. Even below that they're enough to put me on edge. I'd never touch any of them, so killing them is pretty much out of the question.

 

[dave1004]

Spider? Longer than half a centimeter? Sorry, nope.

I will now be cowering under my blankets, waiting for the fear to go away! ^_^

oll het apescsti si ayg

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

[This is odd. I'm actually petrified of crabs (and if anyone does reply with an image, I'm reporting you. *evil smile*),

"With an image".

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Eh, you are much more likely to get hit by a car, and nobody seems to be that frightened of them.

Well, except for cars driven by spiders, perhaps.

And the occasional spider pretending to be a car... excellent fuel efficiency on them, though. Feed them an old age pensioner and they're good for a week.

 

[Flabbagazta]

Honestly we haven't had any spider deaths since 1981. Redbacks and Funnel Webs are the only ones potent enough to be lethal but I tend to be more worried about White Tails, not venomous but their bite will cause necrosis (decaying/rotting of the flesh) around the wound, they tend to hang out in your pants and shoes and can be fairly aggressive (though probably not as aggressive as the Funnel Web).

 

[ACman]

the coconut crab, is actually a spider:

this is a medium sized one, btw, they can get bigger.

Not true. Coconut crabs are more closely related to hermit crabs. Sure they and arachnids are in the same phylum but completely different subphylums.

Crabs are crustasceans and spiders are arachnids but along with the insects and centipedes they make up the....

ARTHROPODEA!!!!

OT: Australian spiders aren't all that big. There's a few really, really venomous ones however. If you ever go to Queensland be sure to watch out for these bad boys:

Joke: An Australian said to an Englishman "Mate, I'm really afraid of spiders."

The Englishman responded, "Oh, me too old chap."

The Australian continued, "Coz back in oz there's spiders whose venom can cause you to die, what do your spiders do?

The Englishman paused, "Make,.. webs?"

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Just to add Camel Spiders are NOT Spiders.

Not to mention most of the pics of 'huge' ones are just using perspective tricks to make them look big.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

If I see a palm sized one then I'm getting the deoderant and a lighter!

Awesome. There's very little in the world that can't be improved by introducing a large, flaming and very pissed off spider.

 

[ACman]

Not really, the only large spiders I ever find in my house are Huntsman spiders. Other than that the rest are small. Of course there are other large spiders in Australia, but Hunstman are the only semi-common ones I've encountered.

Please tell me how a spider that large manages to get through windows/doors without you noticing.

I can't figure out how...

They do start out quite small.

 

[LtFerret]

Well I'm glad that the only type I have to worry about are those little Brown Recluse spiders

 

[Skoosh]

Spiders around here don't get that big, no. We have a couple really common poisonous spider though: brown recluse and black widow. They aren't like the usual rare-but-deadly, they are fucking everywhere. I could go in my shed or basement and find one of each in half an hour. both are around an inch too, not that big. Just have a nasty bite. I'd prefer big spiders so long as they aren't poisonous.

thankfully the recluse doesn't bite too often, just have to watch what you're doing if you're messing with some old wood or something. They can get in clothes and bite though. My mom had to have a chunk of her leg cut out after being bitten by one.

 

[w00tage]

The Funnel Web are not as big but still pretty big and are the most dangerous. Teeth are sharp enough to go through your shoes and their poison can kill you.

And that one is p.o'd - time to leave!

Also, they're movie stars, a lot of monster spiders (like Shelob in the LOTR movies) are modelled on them.

 

[game-lover]

the coconut crab, is actually a spider:

this is a medium sized one, btw, they can get bigger.

*screams loudly at 3 point intervals*

And yes. A spider the size of my palm I would consider rather large. But then spiders freak me the eff out.

 

[LordHotCakes]

its not the big ones you need to be afraid of though, they are easy to see and you can just avoid them. its all the little bastards that bite people. sure most dont die but occasionally it does happen

anyway pic is apparently from some guys backyard up near Cairns, yes the spider is eating a bird

I have run out of screams. All of them are gone, forever. Now I must kill to obtain more, because this image still exists.

Ah yes. Golden Orb Weaver... Words fail.

 

[Blind Sight]

And suddenly I'm glad that the most terrifying things in Canada are moose with parasites in their brains that cause them to go crazy...

 

[anthony87]

Yes, yes they are. That one was trying to hitch-hike with me. It's a baby, by the way.

Is it just me or is that thing rearing up to strike?

OT: Well I'm Irish so the house spiders we have here don't bother me too much as long as they don't drop on my head or anything. Hell I prefer a spider on the wall to a moth fluttering about my head.

That's not to say we don't get ones that are relatively big here. I remember one time I was in the bathroom taking a wee when a big ************(for here) of a spider dropped down from the ceiling and started scuttling around my feet. Bastard was big enough that it made fucking NOISE on the wood floor. I wasn't surprised to find that the volume of piss had increased at that moment.

As for Austrailia, those spiders can fuck right off. Not the huntsman or ones like that. But the angry ones that'd bite and kill you for the lulz.

Spider related video below:

 

[jessegeek]

Ok so i'm pretty sure i can safely say that Australia is seen as a country that has some pretty damn big spiders.

But if i'm walking around my house and see a spider the size of my palm, i don't consider that a big spider. But to the non Aussies here, If you saw a spider the size of your palm, would you consider it big or not? what do you consider to be a large spider?

For me I think it depends on the average size for the species. For example, I live in the UK, where wolf spiders aren't meant to grow larger than about 4cm^2, but I've seen a few the size of large mice. When I see those guys, I think they're pretty big, but only because I know what size they should be. However, palm-sized spiders of appropriate species like bird spiders I consider pretty regular.

But then again, I'm a biologist, so I'm probably overthinking this.