Heteropoda

Heteropoda
Temporal range: Palaeogene–present
Heteropoda maxima
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Araneomorphae
Family: Sparassidae
Genus: Heteropoda
Latreille, 1804
Species

189 accepted species; see text.

The eye arrangement of spiders in the genus Heteropoda

Heteropoda is a genus of spiders in the family Sparassidae (the huntsman spiders). They are mainly distributed in tropical Asia and Australia, while at least one species, H. venatoria, has a cosmopolitan distribution,[1] and H. variegata occurs in the Mediterranean.[2]

These spiders catch and eat insects, but in a laboratory study one species readily ate fish and tadpoles when offered.[1] H. venatoria has also been known to eat scorpions and bats.[3]

The largest species in the genus, H. maxima, is about 4.6 centimeters long but has a legspan of up to 30 centimeters, making it the largest of any extant spider.[4]