Incy Wincy - Oh My God - that is a HUGE spider!

According to "Iziko Museums of Cape Town", guinea-pigs bitten by the spider died within three minutes, but this was found to have been from shock and not the effects of any venom.

clipped from www.iol.co.za It's that time of year, the gentle sounds of summer approaching, lawnmowers, crickets, birdsong, the fizz of beer cans opening, and the shrieks of suburbanites confronted by rain spiders. "They are among the biggest non-tarantula spiders in the world," said amateur arachnologist Astri Leroy, of the fat-bodied long-legged Sparassidae often found indoors in the last parched weeks before the summer rains come. Nestled behind alarm sensors, they set off burglar alarms when stepping out for a nibble on a passing insect, and plunge households into turmoil through arguments over who is going to remove them, reducing strapping alpha males into Tupperware-clutching wrecks. "None of the ones I know do any harm at all, but they are pretty big," said Leroy, a founder member of the Spider Club of Southern Africa. They can have a legspan of up to 7cm and a head to abdomen measurement of about 3cm

Incy Wincy Humongous Spider

The African Huntsman Spider is a big, beautiful, and remarkably fast true spider. Hailing from the land of southern Africa, these agile arachnids have been designated another common name - the Rain Spider. They are called Rain Spiders because in their native habitat, they are known to enter peoples' houses before it rains! African Huntsman Spiders are rare sights in collections and although they do not possess extremely toxic venom, they do not make good "pets". They are very fast-moving, and they can deliver a painful bite.

African Huntsman Spiders can make good display animals though, provided they have a climbing area in their tank. The African Huntsman Spider is generally a good eater and one will usually eat ravenously. Overall, African Huntsman Spiders can be rewarding captives for those who keep them, and perhaps they can even act as accurate rain indicators for people who find them in their home

*Information provided by Frank Somma

NVDL: I'm not usually scared of spiders but the two I encountered were terrifying. They moved suddenly and very quickly, advancing a metre in a second or two. They also jumped off the walls at a moments notice, imagine a thing the size of your hand hovering slowly in front of your face. I had trouble sleeping after another one emerged, this time on the ceiling. I haven't seen spiders much bigger than these in my life, and I've never seen spiders move as quickly. And they do look they will give you a bhite they will have you hopping around for half an hour. Scarrrrrriiiiiy.