| 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 |
| Binomial name | |
| Macrothele gigas Shimojana & Haupt, 1998 | |
The Giant Japanese funnel-web spider, known formally as Macrothele gigas, is a species of funnel-web spider in the family Macrothelidae. It is one of the largest funnel-web spiders in the world, and is highly venomous.
Description
Members 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. The spider is exclusive to the Ryukyu Islands in Japan.
Venom
The spider is extremely venomous, and typical symptoms after a bite can include unnatural amounts of perspiration, goose bumps, hypertension and tachycardia.
Sources
- taxonomy. "Taxonomy browser (Macrothele gigas)". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
- ^ 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. 213: 83–86. Bibcode:2022Txcn..213...83L. 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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