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18-522: Giant Spider may refer to: Species [ edit ] Giant house spider , common to Europe Giant wood spider , or Golden silk orb-weaver , found worldwide Mythology, folklore and fiction [ edit ] Giant Spider (Middle Earth) , also known as Great Spiders Any depiction of oversized spider – see Cultural depictions of spiders , including: Some depictions of Anansi from African folklore Tsuchigumo , aka ōgumo (大蜘蛛, "giant spider"),

36-513: A derogatory term and race of yōkai in Japanese folklore It (character) from novel of the same name Acromantulas from the novel series Harry Potter Giant spiders, a type of monster in Dungeons & Dragons role playing game See also [ edit ] The Giant Spider Invasion , a 1975 sci-fi film Big Ass Spider! , a 2013 sci-fi comedy horror film Topics referred to by

54-549: A single morphologically variable species, for which the oldest name, and hence the senior synonym, is T. atrica . A phylogenetic study in 2013 concluded that Tegenaria , as then defined, was not monophyletic , and split off some species, including T. atrica , into the newly created segregate genus Eratigena . The study also consolidated the various giant house spider species into one species, E. atrica . A subsequent genetic study of E. atrica specimens determined that there were three distinct morphological groups, leading to

72-483: A slightly smaller body at around 12 to 15 millimeters (0.47 to 0.59 in) in length. The female leg-span is typically around 45 millimeters (1.8 in). The leg span of the male is highly variable, with spans between 25 and 75 millimeters (0.98 and 2.95 in) being common. Its eight eyes are of equal size and are arranged in two rows. As the eyes contain fewer than 400 visual cells, E. atrica can probably only distinguish light and dark. The first description of

90-768: A spider now assigned to this species was by Carl Ludwig Koch in 1843, under the name Tegenaria atrica . Other supposedly different species were described later, including Tegenaria saeva by John Blackwall in 1844, Tegenaria duellica by Eugène Simon in 1875 and Tegenaria gigantea by Ralph Vary Chamberlin and Wilton Ivie in 1935. T. gigantea was synonymized with T. duellica in 1978. The three remaining taxa have been regarded as distinct species, particularly in Britain. Thus Roberts (1995) provides distinguishing characters for T. atrica , T. duellica, and T. saeva , as does Oxford (2008) for T. duellica (as T. gigantea ) and T. saeva . Others consider these three as part of

108-476: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Giant house spider The giant house spider has been treated as either one species, under the name Eratigena atrica , or as three species, E. atrica , E. duellica and E. saeva . As of April 2020 , the three species view was accepted by the World Spider Catalog . They are among

126-553: Is mainly dark brown. On its sternum is a lighter marking, with three light spots on each side that form an arrow-like shape pointing toward the head of the spider. The opisthosoma features a lighter middle line with six "spots" on each side. The giant house spider has the same coloration as the domestic house spider, Tegenaria domestica ; it has earthy tones of brown and muddy red or yellow. They also have conspicuously hairy legs, palps, and abdomen. The female body-size can reach 18.5 millimeters (0.73 in) in length, with males having

144-472: The amount of available food. E. atrica molts seven or eight times before reaching the immature adult state, and after a final molt reaches maturity. Like most spiders, it possesses venom to subdue its prey. Since E. atrica' s bites can penetrate human skin on occasion, the effects of agatoxin might be felt by bite-victims, though these spiders will not bite unless provoked. With speeds clocked at 0.53 m/s (1.9 km/h; 1.2 mph; 1.7 ft/s),

162-510: The collection When you are engulfed in Flames . Carl Ludwig Koch Carl Ludwig Koch was an inspector of water and forests. His principal work Die Arachniden (1831–1848) (16 volumes) was commenced by Carl Wilhelm Hahn (1786–1836). Koch was responsible for the last 12 volumes. He also finished the chapter on spiders in Faunae insectorum germanicae initia oder Deutschlands Insecten [Elements of

180-445: The female only leaves its nest to feed, males can often be seen wandering around houses during the late summer and early autumn looking for a mate. Males can be found from July to October, adult females occur all year. At least 60 spiderlings emerge from an egg-sac. Unusual for spiders, they are subsocial at this stage: They remain together for about a month, but do not cooperate in prey-capture. The amount of cannibalism correlates with

198-486: The funnel until a small invertebrate happens to get trapped in the web, at which point the spider runs out and attacks it. They usually build their webs in corners (on both the floor and ceiling), between boxes in basements, behind cupboards, in attics, or any other area that is rarely disturbed by large animals or humans. They are also often found near window openings. E. atrica normally lives for two or three years, but lifetimes of up to six years have been observed. While

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216-570: The giant house spider held the Guinness Book of World Records for top spider speed until 1987 when it was displaced by solifugids , although the latter are not true spiders. A population of giant house spiders is popularly thought to be a deterrent to the establishment of Eratigena agrestis , known in North-America as the "hobo spider", and considered by some to be more likely to bite humans. Giant house spiders may compete with hobo spiders for

234-586: The insect fauna of Germany] a work by Georg Wolfgang Franz Panzer (1755–1829). He also co-authored, with Georg Karl Berendt , an important monograph Die im Bernstein befindlichen Myriapoden, Arachniden und Apteren der Vorwelt (1854) on arachnids, myriapods, and wingless insects in amber based on material in Berendt's collection, now held in the Museum für Naturkunde , Berlin. He is not to be confused with his son, Ludwig Carl Christian Koch (1825–1908), who also became

252-482: The largest spiders of Central and Northern Europe . They were previously placed in the genus Tegenaria . In 2013, they were moved to the new genus Eratigena as the single species Eratigena atrica . In 2018, the three separate species were restored. The bite of these species does not pose a threat to humans or pets, and they are generally reluctant to bite, preferring instead to hide or escape. The two sexes do not differ in coloration or markings. Its coloration

270-508: The restoration of three separate species: E. atrica , E. duellica , and E. saeva . E. atrica is found in Europe , Central Asia and Northern Africa . It was unwittingly introduced to the Pacific Northwest of North America circa 1900 due to human activity and has strongly increased in numbers for the last century. The spider has been found in several European countries in which it

288-501: The same resources. Hobo spiders grow no more than a body size of 15 millimeters (0.59 in) long whereas the larger female giant house spider can have a body size of 18 millimeters (0.71 in), but has proportionately much longer legs. Humorist David Sedaris has written about his relationship with E. atrica . His essay "April & Paris" documents his growing affection toward and domestic association with giant house spiders, particularly one named April. The essay can be found in

306-421: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Giant Spider . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Giant_Spider&oldid=1132508151 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

324-522: Was previously not recorded, like Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania . It is recorded in the checklist of Danish spider species, and is also found in Iceland . The giant house spider's original habitat consists mostly of caves , or dry forests where it is found under rocks, but it is a common spider in people's homes. The webs built by the giant house spider are flat and messy with a funnel at one end. They do not contain sticky threads. The spider lurks in

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