Random Things Most People Don't Know About Tarantulas (11 items)

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  (#7) The Goliath Bird Eater Is The Biggest Tarantula

  The biggest spider in the world remains a contentious issue. The giant huntsman spider rocks a huge leg span that dwarfs any other arachnid, yet its overall body size and weight are not as great as some large tarantulas. The biggest of these in terms of body mass is the goliath bird eater. This huge tarantula can be as heavy as 6.2 ounces, about the weight of a small puppy, and have a leg span of 11 inches. While certainly large enough to eat birds, bird eaters typically spend most of their time on the ground eating earthworms. 
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  (#9) They Eat Prey After Turning Them Into Soup With Digestive Chemicals

  As members of the arachnid class, much of a tarantulas biology works in the same way as other spiders. The intestines of a tarantula are too narrow to be able to deal with solid food, meaning the creatures must inject powerful digestive juices into their prey. These chemicals then dissolve the victim into a soup-like material that the tarantula can then suck up and consume.
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  (#1) They Shouldn’t Even Be Called Tarantulas

  Although everyone calls pretty much all big and hairy spiders tarantulas, the truth is this word technically only applies to one species. Before Europeans expanded into the Americas, one particularly large Italian spider called the wolf spider became known as the Lycosa tarantula. It garnered such a fearsome reputation that when settlers began to move to places with even bigger and more dangerous spiders, the name tarantula stuck. Technically, what people know as tarantulas should be called Theraphosids – bird-eating spiders.
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  (#3) Tarantulas Are Almost Never Aggressive

  Unlike the reputation built up around tarantulas as being fearsome monsters, they rarely present any danger to humans. If fact, they generally try their best to avoid any potential danger and can sense when people are near. "Most spiders can sense the heat from our bodies and will avoid us," says Dave Clarke, head of invertebrates at London Zoo. "They are not naturally very aggressive.” Even when they are forced into defending themselves, a tarantula will often only inject a tiny amount of venom or even none at all.
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  (#10) A Tarantula’s Exoskeleton Can Crack From Even Small Falls

  Unlike their smaller relatives, tarantulas cannot escape a significant fall without risking catastrophic injury. Their tough exoskeleton cracks if hit with a big enough impact, causing hemolymph to leak from the body and kill the tarantula. Since they are so susceptible to being injured from a fall, tarantulas must always be secure when climbing. To that end, tarantulas sport retractable claws at the base of their legs that they embed in objects they climb.
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  (#8) Their Diet Is Made Up of All Kinds Of Creatures

  Despite the size of tarantulas and their reputation for eating birds, the vast majority of species depend on small insects for their diet. However, that doesn’t mean that they are averse to eating other prey if they have access though. Certain species have been known to eat larger creatures, including snakes, frogs, lizards, mice, and even rats. As ambush predators, they surprise their victims and inject them with enough venom to kill them as quickly as possible.

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