The Giant Japanese funnel-web spider, known formally as Macrothele gigas, is a species of funnel-web spider in the family Macrothelidae.[1] It is one of the largest funnel-web spiders in the world, and is highly venomous.[2]
| Giant Japanese funnel-web spider | |
|---|---|
| |
| Female Macrothele gigas | |
| |
| Male Macrothele gigas | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Family: | Macrothelidae |
| Genus: | Macrothele |
| Species: | M. gigas
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| Binomial name | |
| Macrothele gigas Shimojana & Haupt, 1998
| |
Description
editMembers of the species are typically black with red fangs protruding from the mouth. When fully grown, spiders in the species can grow to have a leg span of ~6 inches (15 cm), making them one of the largest funnel web spider species in the world.[3] The spider is exclusive to the Ryukyu Islands in Japan.
Venom
editThe spider is extremely venomous, and typical symptoms after a bite can include unnatural amounts of perspiration, goose bumps, hypertension and tachycardia.[2]
Sources
edit- ^ taxonomy. "Taxonomy browser (Macrothele gigas)". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
- ^ a b Luo, Yi; Mao, Yan-Chiao; Liu, Po-Yu; Chiang, Liao-Chun; Lai, Kuo-Lung; Chien, Ju-Ying (2022-07-15). "A potential life-threatening Asian funnel-web spider bite (Macrothele gigas) in central Taiwan". Toxicon: Official Journal of the International Society on Toxinology. 213: 83–86. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2022.04.010. ISSN 1879-3150. PMID 35447105.
- ^ "Macrothele gigas". Hardcore Arachnids. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
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