Wildlife
Goliath bird-eating spiders are tarantulas of epic proportions. Biggest by mass and coming very close to the giant huntsman for the title of largest spider in the world. As their name suggests, Goliath bird-eaters are certainly big enough to eat a bird, although they rarely do, preferring smaller insects and invertebrates. Interestingly, it was a Victorian explorer who first reported these giant spiders and witnessed one eating a hummingbird. Like most tarantulas, Goliath bird-eaters are fairly harmless to humans. They only attack when threatened and their bite is no worse than the sting of a wasp. They live in deep burrows in the rainforests of northern South America.
Scientific name: Theraphosa blondi
Rank: Species
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Snacking on giant spiders
Orlando and his friends go into the jungle to hunt and eat the largest spider in the world.
Orlando and his friends go into the Venezualan jungle in search of a snack - the venomous goliath birdeater, the world's largest spider which is the size of a dinner plate. Of very comparable dimensions and possibly even greater mass, are the Chaco golden knee, and the Brazilian salmon pink. Some of these huge tarantulas have been recorded with a leg span of 28cm.
Goliath bird-eater
Steve Backshall checks out a tarantula with fangs the size of a cheetah's claws.
Steve Backshall checks out a tarantula with fangs the size of a cheetah's claws.
Hair-flicking and fangs
The Goliath spider flicks barbed hairs in George McGavin's face rather than using its inch-long fangs.
I was so pleased when we finally found this beautiful spider, that I didn't mind at all when she kicked hairs all over my face! The air was so full of her barbed body hairs that I inhaled some of them which made talking to camera quite difficult...' (George McGavin)
The Goliath bird-eating spider can be found in a number of locations including: Amazon Rainforest, South America. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Goliath bird-eating spider distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
RainforestDiscover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
The Goliath bird-eater Spider (Theraphosa blondi) is an arachnid belonging to the tarantula group, Theraphosidae. It is considered to be the second largest spider in the world (by leg-span it is second to the giant huntsman spider), and it may be the largest by mass. The spider gets its name from reports of explorers from the Victorian era, who witnessed one eating a hummingbird.
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Predation defence
Carnivorous
Burrower
Moulting
Egg layer
Predator
Adapted to running
Venomous