Everyone loves a good spider

I was in the University Zoology museum this morning and took the opportunity to photograph one of my favourite specimens.

In this fine piece of 19th century taxidermy a large Goliath bird-eating tarantula Theraphosa blondi has just caught a humming bird.


Tarantulas are hunters, they don't build webs, but instead they sneak up on their prey, pounce and inflict a fatal bite with their venomous fangs. The Goliath tarantula is the biggest spider in the world and can grow to the size of a dinner plate. It lives in the rain-forests of northern South America.