Species Fact Profile: Goliath Birdeater (Theraphosa blondi)

                                      Goliath Birdeater (Bird-Eating Spider)

                                           Theraposa blondi (Latreille, 1804)

Range: Northern South America

Habitat: Tropical Rainforest

Diet:  Arthropods, Worms, Small Vertebrates

Social Grouping:  Solitary

Reproduction:  Females mate shortly after molting.  Lay 50-200 eggs within a silk ball, which she carries with her.  The egg sac will hatch into spiderlings within 6-8 weeks, and reach sexual maturity at 2-3 years old

Lifespan: 15-20 Years (Females), 3-6 Years (Males)

      Conservation Status:  IUCN Not Listed

• Largest spider in the world (by mass, if not by leg span), weighing up to 175 grams and measuring up to 13 centimeters in body length.  Legs can span up to 30 centimeters
• Coloration is primarily tan or light brown, often with some faint brown markings on the legs
• Unlike most other spiders, including most other tarantulas, females rarely consume the males after mating, though they usually do die within a few months of mating
• If faced with a predator, they will fling their hairs, which can be very irritating to the skin or mucus membranes of the predator.  They will also bite in self defense, and though their venom is fairly weak (the level of pain comparable to wasp sting), the fangs are large (2-4 centimeters) enough to cause some physical damage.  Venom is not always injected in a bite.  They will also rub their legs together to make a hissing sound as a warning
• Despite the common name, which originated from an 18th century engraving that showed a specimen eating a hummingbird, these spiders rarely eat birds
• Nocturnal, spend the days either under rocks or roots or in burrows lined with silk
• Eaten by local peoples, who first singe off the hairs, than roast the spider in banana leaves.  It is said to taste like shrimp