EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Brown Huntsman (Heteropoda jugulans), 
Family Sparassidae (prev. Heteropodidae),
Northern Queensland, Australia

Explanation:   If you were expecting to see a photo an Aboriginal hunter in this week's EPOW, look again.  This is a "huntsman" spider of the northern Australia tropics.  Also called giant crab spiders (they are not true crab spiders), and misnamed tarantulas, the legspan of these arachnids can reach 15 cm (6 inches).

Huntsman spiders typically have a flattened body and legs that bend inward rather than underneath.  This allows the spider to squeeze into flat tight spaces such as behind the bark of trees, in crevices, under rocks, or behind sun visors in your car.  They move amazingly quickly in spurts across walls and ceilings. 

Note the flattened body form ... seen here from above (left) and below (right).

They are often found in garages and houses and emerge at night.  I photographed this beauty after dark in a lightless outdoor shower stall of a cabin in the rainforest of northern Queensland, Australia.  

The family Sparassidae contains 13 genera and 94 species, although new species are still being discovered.  Unlike some of the other genera of this family, Heteropoda has two rows of 4 eyes each, as shown in the photo to the right.  

Huntsman spiders can bite and inflict local pain and swelling, although they are best left alone to attend to their useful function of consuming insects and other invertebrates.