Eratigena duellica "giant house spider"

Discussion on other insect orders not covered above and on other invertebrates such as arachnids, centipedes, millipedes, etc,
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kevinkk
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Eratigena duellica "giant house spider"

Post by kevinkk »

Last year I first encountered this spider, and now- They're back.
I got a few pictures this time. These guys are fast.
Clearly the term "giant" is subjective. Nevertheless, this is
a startling critter.
giant house spider.JPG
giant house spider.JPG (83.98 KiB) Viewed 2656 times
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Re: Eratigena duellica "giant house spider"

Post by adamcotton »

kevinkk wrote: Fri Sep 06, 2024 11:52 pm Clearly the term "giant" is subjective.
Yes, I can see it is much smaller than the Huntsman spiders I get in my house here, their 'legspan' is about the size of my hand.

Adam.
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Re: Eratigena duellica "giant house spider"

Post by 58chevy »

Speaking of giant spiders, check out this cryptid rumored to haunt the Congo:
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Re: Eratigena duellica "giant house spider"

Post by kevinkk »

Rumor is being polite. That thing is physically impossible. I've watched too many programs about the Carboniferous and subsequent epochs to
fall for anything bigger than Titanus giganteus.
The giant dragonflies have more of a chance, it's been theorized that even though the probable higher oxygen content that decreased after the
Carboniferous that's been attributed to the gigantism of Arthropods, they were able to get enough oxygen through the beating of their wings forcing more oxygen intake, although the last thing I saw was that they finally met their demise because of changing ecosystem and the rise of flowering
plants decreasing oxygen in the water. Those studies in Chicago with the beetles raised under elevated oxygen bear out the mathmatics of Titanus
being the upper limit for bulk.
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Re: Eratigena duellica "giant house spider"

Post by 58chevy »

The breathing apparatus (booklike "lungs") of spiders would not function in an arthropod as large as j'ba fofi.
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Re: Eratigena duellica "giant house spider"

Post by kevinkk »

Later, I realized that I can't really compare insects with other land Arthropods, I forgot about coconut crabs, giant centipedes, and I have seen
the giant tarantulas at reptile shows, which are big enough for most of us.
There is a lot of good "cryptid" video on youtube though, I have to skip over all the bait, otherwise I'd never find any b movies to watch.
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Re: Eratigena duellica "giant house spider"

Post by Chuck »

58chevy wrote: Mon Oct 07, 2024 10:02 pm The breathing apparatus (booklike "lungs") of spiders would not function in an arthropod as large as j'ba fofi.
Is this for certain? What if it has adapted? "Lung" adaptations aside, as Kevin mentioned there is the coconut crab, just a big hermit crab that doesn't need a shell home, which can span over a meter. The aquatic king crabs and others dwarf the coconut crab.

"studies in Chicago with the beetles raised under elevated oxygen bear out the mathmatics of Titanus
being the upper limit for bulk"

There are many limiting factors, not just oxygen. For largemouth bass it's a lack of foraging during winter; the NYS record is 12lbs, which is a joke in FL. Insects have a natural cycle, and lifespan, which is limiting- the larvae of beetles for example don't double their larval stage period, so there's that, plus the limit of the food source, time to digest, etc.

If Thor Hyerdahl was telling the truth, during his first Pacific crossing he captured two 6' eel elves; this means either there's an eel that never matures, or there's a 200' long eel.

I'd not rule out a giant anything.

That said, what is usually in doubt is the report. Lay persons often report they have a 24" moth, and then I get that cecropia, and it's not even in the ballpark. Ditto spiders- reports of hand-sized spiders and when I go look at it, it's a bloody water spider with a 3.5" span...ooohhh. When sizes of animals are claimed I fall in the "show me a photo" group.
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Re: Eratigena duellica "giant house spider"

Post by kevinkk »

Chuck wrote: Tue Oct 08, 2024 5:17 pm I'd not rule out a giant anything.
Agreed, although anymore even a photo is going to have doubters, AI and awesome graphics with proper animation make dinosaurs look real, and we all are pretty sure about that.
When it gets to the news on tv, I'll have to wait and see.
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