Face-Sized Spiders Discovered in Sri Lanka

[n2doc]

By Matt Peckham
April 04, 2013



Some thing may forever haunt our dreams. Like the words “spider” and “face-sized” used in a sentence together.

And yet here those words are, straight from northern Sri Lanka, where scientists say they’ve discovered a new type of giant tarantula with a leg span of up to eight inches. Grab your rulers and mirrors, because yep, that’s about the average length of a human noggin.

As if that weren’t frightening enough (or cool enough — you pick), this particular spider was found living in trees. Anyone who’s ever walked beneath a tree and wound up brushing away a tiny spider knows that some arachnids enjoy an arboreal life, dangling from silken threads to surprise unsuspecting trail-walkers. Now imagine one the size of a volleyball landing on you like one of the facehuggers from Alien.

And in case you were thinking they probably look far worse than they are, this one’s actually quite venomous. Oh, and fast — because of course it is. So now imagine being chased by a poisonous, sprinting, face-sized spider.



Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/04/04/oh-good-face-sized-tarantulas-discovered-in-sri-lanka/

[OldDem2012]

1. [[[[shudder]]]]. nt.

[winter is coming]

2. SyFy movie about face-sized spiders in 3, 2, 1... n/t

[nadine_mn]

5. oooh I hope so - I love SyFy movies

Lol - they are so bad...

[MynameisBlarney]

13. Those movies are one of the few things I miss

about watching tv.
They had some real stinkers.
But I couldn't turn away.

[winter is coming]

18. Chupacabra vs. The Alamo was on a couple of weeks ago.

It was sooooooo bad.

[MynameisBlarney]

20. Oh damn, hate I missed that one, lol

But it couldn't possibly be worse than A Mexican Werewolf in Texas.

[winter is coming]

21. Didn't see that one, but this one started with the assumption

that the Mexican border is a short distance southeast of San Antonio, and went downhill from there. And you wouldn't believe the shots of Erik Estrada riding a motorcycle against a patently fake backdrop. It was like a throwback to '50s special effects.

[MynameisBlarney]

25. Now I gotta see it!

I love movies like that!

BTW.
Your moniker is also the name of the DDO guild I'm in

[winter is coming]

26. DDO? Dogs Devour Oranges? Demented Dining Out? n/t

[MynameisBlarney]

27. LOL

Dungeons and Dragons Online.

[winter is coming]

28. Ah. I guess when you play online you don't have to worry about losing the dice. :-) n/t

[MynameisBlarney]

30. nope

you can lose your temper though. lol

[winter is coming]

31. LOL, so not really that different at all. n/t

[MynameisBlarney]

33. Not much

almost as much fun and table top D&D

[Aerows]

37. Oh, hey

I play that occasionally too.

[MynameisBlarney]

38. cool!

what server?

[Aerows]

44. Orien

I have some other characters on Khyber.

[MynameisBlarney]

45. no effin way!

I have 10 toons on Orien.
3 on Argonessen.

I will be in game tonight. I would be more than happy to run with you.

[Aerows]

46. It's been a while since I've been on

But sure, I'll look you up, if you shoot me a PM with one of your character names

[MynameisBlarney]

47. Done

About what time do you think you may be on?
So I don't get into a long quest

[Ganja Ninja]

10. Set in the sunny state of Florida no doubt.

It's the next best thing to the land that time forgot. And they can always throw in a few gratuitous shots of south beach. That never hurts.

[xchrom]

3. DEAR LORD GOD!11

[Owl]

4. I'm canceling my vacation plans to Sri Lanka.

[LWolf]

6. While I don't want to share house space

with this one, I think it's pretty cool.

Spiders don't bother me. Flies, cockroaches, gnats, mosquitoes? They bother me.

[Aerows]

39. I'd rather contend with this

than a cockroach. Animals seem to like me, and unfortunately, that includes cockroaches. If by chance one appears, I can guarantee it will run toward me instead of away from me, which naturally makes it 10x worse. I cannot be in the same room where I know there is a cockroach until it is gone.

Yes, I know, it's irrational, but stay up for an hour with a can of Bengal in your hand because you saw one, and it gets annoying. One crawled into my nightgown when I was a child - and it was a big, inch long one. :shudder:

So yes, I'd probably rather deal with this instead.

[HarveyDarkey]

48. Yeah, but they're probably not giant cockroaches

[kurtzapril4]

7. I know this is bad, but

Whenever someone says "Hey, let's go somewhere jungle-y!" the very first thought that pops into my head is....how big are the spiders?

[byeya]

8. Ahhh. A new logo for Citigroup.

[FiggyJay]

9. Wow!

That is one handsome spider! I love spiders but I do try to admire them from afar!

[laundry_queen]

11. THIS is why I live where it is STILL snowing in April. nt

[Ilsa]

12. Shelob, Aragog, etc ... all scare me senseless.

This one scares me more because it's real.

Well, at least you can see it when it attacks, unlike smaller spiders like brown recluse and black widow.

[greytdemocrat]

14. Pass!!!

[Ilsa]

15. Hysterical comments on Yahoo News ...

"Poecilotheria rajaei tarantula? I can't remember that name. I'll call it a pinche chingadera spider."

[lunatica]

24. LOL!

pinche araña!

[Ligyron]

16. People have been living on that island for thousands of years

The fact that they just now "discovered" them and the complete lack of highly publicized attacks on humans show just how dangerous they really are.

[Demo_Chris]

19. It just means there are no survivors... heh-heh. nt

[Solly Mack]

17. How pretty!

Won't be walking under trees in Sri Lanka - but how pretty!

[JaneyVee]

22. My dreams will eternally be haunted.

[dembotoz]

23. it is soooo very cool that we find stuff like this

science is good

[4_TN_TITANS]

29. And this would be why I tolerate living in Tennessee. n/t

[beevul]

32. They are most likey semi-docile, like most in the tarantula family are.

They are most likey semi-docile, like most in the tarantula family are.

Not overly-aggressive, at least.

One of these on the other hand, would have me worried. Meet Atrax Robustus - more commonly known as the Sidney funnelweb spider:




Not semi-docile. Aggressive, nervous, grumpy, and very very dangerous.

[Blue_Tires]

34. Kill them...Kill them ALL

[marmar]

41. A Starship Troopers reference?

[Blue_Tires]

43. Wasn't thinking about that at all

I just have an insect phobia and because of this fear, they are all deserving of death

[tabasco]

35. The tarantulas I encountered in New Mexico were quite docile

They really don't want to be around people.

[AsahinaKimi]

36. arachnophobia

[Fumesucker]

40. I nearly walked into this beauty one night in October last year, she was hanging right at face level

In a path I often walk.

[Liberal_Dog]

42. Marking Sri Lanka Down

as a place not to visit.

Face-sized spiders?

Thanks but no thanks.