---
title: "What the sources say about the Goliath Birdeater | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "39 claims from the Goliath Birdeater profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/goliath-birdeater-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/goliath-birdeater/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Goliath Birdeater (*Theraphosa blondi*)

> 39 claims from the Goliath Birdeater profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Goliath Birdeater](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/goliath-birdeater/)

## Goliath Birdeater. Virginia Zoo.

https://virginiazoo.org/animal/goliath-birdeater/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The heaviest spider in the world | Goliath birdeaters are the heaviest spiders in the world. |
| a 6-ounce rainforest tarantula | Weight: 6 ounces |
| fangs that can pierce human skin and stinging hairs it can release | body is covered with stinging hairs that the tarantula can release to irritate the skin and mucous membranes of predators. Their fangs are large enough to pierce the skin of a human |
| Not Evaluated | IUCN Conservation Status Not Evaluated (note: stats.conservationStatus; Crossref and GBIF hold no assessment) |
| Upland rain forests, marshes and swamps of Suriname, Guyana, northern Brazil and southern Venezuela | Found In: Suriname, Guyana, northern Brazil and southern Venezuela/Upland rain forests, marshes, and swamps (note: stats.habitat and body) |
| Mostly earthworms, and occasionally small rodents, amphibians and reptiles | Diet consists mostly of earthworms, and occasionally small rodents, amphibians, and reptiles (note: stats.diet) |
| An 11-inch leg span and stinging hairs it can release to irritate predators | Leg Span: 11 inches (note: stats.superpower; hairs quoted in the next entry) |
| stinging hairs it can release to irritate predators | stinging hairs that the tarantula can release to irritate the skin and mucous membranes of predators (note: stats.superpower) |
| holds the title of heaviest spider on Earth | Goliath birdeaters are the heaviest spiders in the world. |
| The Virginia Zoo gives its weight as 6 ounces. | Weight: 6 ounces (note: zoo gives one figure) |
| Its leg span, the width across its outstretched legs, is 11 inches, nearly a foot. | Leg Span: 11 inches |
| It lives in upland rain forests, marshes and swamps in Suriname, Guyana, northern Brazil and southern Venezuela | Found In: Suriname, Guyana, northern Brazil and southern Venezuela/Upland rain forests, marshes, and swamps |
| In the wild it can live 12 to 16 years. In human care, spiders have reached their early 20s. | 12-16 years in the wild but into their early 20s in human care |
| the menu is mostly earthworms. Small rodents, amphibians and reptiles are occasional extras. | Diet consists mostly of earthworms, and occasionally small rodents, amphibians, and reptiles, despite the name “birdeater” |
| Like other tarantulas, the Goliath birdeater is covered in stinging hairs. It can release them to irritate the skin and the mucous membranes | Like other tarantulas, the Goliath birdeater’s body is covered with stinging hairs that the tarantula can release to irritate the skin and mucous membranes of predators. (note: '(the wet linings of the nose, mouth and eyes)' glosses mucous membranes) |
| Its fangs are large enough to pierce human skin. The venom, though, is about as strong as a wasp's | Their fangs are large enough to pierce the skin of a human, but their venom is about as strong as a wasp’s. |
| Habitat loss, the exotic pet trade and hunting are the major threats to this species. | Habitat loss, the exotic pet trade, and hunting are the major threats to this species |
| The Virginia Zoo gives its IUCN conservation status as Not Evaluated. | IUCN Conservation Status Not Evaluated (note: Crossref and GBIF hold no assessment) |
| In the wild, 12 to 16 years. In human care, some spiders make it into their early 20s. | 12-16 years in the wild but into their early 20s in human care |
| Despite the name, the Virginia Zoo says its diet is mostly earthworms. | Diet consists mostly of earthworms, and occasionally small rodents, amphibians, and reptiles, despite the name “birdeater” |
| The Virginia Zoo says its fangs can break a person's skin, but its venom is about as strong as a wasp's. | Their fangs are large enough to pierce the skin of a human, but their venom is about as strong as a wasp’s. |
| The Virginia Zoo lists it as a carnivore. | Carnivore. Diet consists mostly of earthworms |
| dangerLevel: Medium | Their fangs are large enough to pierce the skin of a human, but their venom is about as strong as a wasp’s. (note: task #976; can injure (fangs pierce skin), rarely seriously (wasp-strength venom). Was High) |
| it can release the stinging hairs that cover its body to irritate the attacker's skin and mucous membranes | the Goliath birdeater’s body is covered with stinging hairs that the tarantula can release to irritate the skin and mucous membranes of predators (note: vibe.reason, task #976) |

## Menin, Rodrigues & Azevedo (2005). Predation on amphibians by spiders (Arachnida, Araneae) in the Neotropical region. Phyllomedusa: Journal of Herpetology.

https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v4i1p39-47

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| says it is known to prey on skinks, snakes and mice. | Theraphosa blondi is known to prey on skinks, snakes, mice (Azevedo and Smith 2004) and earthworms (Nyffeler et al. 2001) as well as frogs. |
| On 16 April 2004, researchers surveying frogs in a forest reserve in Manaus, Brazil, saw a Goliath birdeater eating a juvenile toad (Bufo marinus). | on 16 April 2004 a theraphosid spider Theraphosa blondi (84.12 mm) was observed eating a juvenile B. marinus (90.52 mm) |
| The spider stood over its prey with its chelicerae, the jaws that hold the fangs, in the toad's head | The spider was standing over the toad with its chelicerae in the head of the frog. (note: 'the jaws that hold the fangs' is a gloss of chelicerae) |
| Two hours later the toad was still alive, but its left eye and right hind limb were paralyzed. | After two hours, the frog was still alive but the left eye and the right hind limb were paralyzed. |
| A 2005 review of spiders that eat amphibians adds skinks, snakes, mice and frogs to its known prey. | Theraphosa blondi is known to prey on skinks, snakes, mice (Azevedo and Smith 2004) and earthworms (Nyffeler et al. 2001) as well as frogs. |
| They measured the spider's body at 84.12 millimeters and the toad at 90.52 millimeters from snout to vent. | a theraphosid spider Theraphosa blondi (84.12 mm) was observed eating a juvenile B. marinus (90.52 mm) |
| and there was bleeding around the bite. The researchers also saw a second bite in the toad's throat region. | There was a hemorrhage around the bite, and another bite was observed in the gular region. (note: 'bleeding' = hemorrhage; 'throat region' = gular region) |
| When the spider was captured, the toad was alive but motionless. | The frog was still alive but motionless when the spider was captured. |
| A 2005 review of spiders that prey on amphibians calls it a giant tarantula that eats a wide range of prey types | The giant tarantula Theraphosa blondi , and probably the tarantula Sericopelma rubronitens , eat a wide range of prey types. |
| researchers surveying frogs in a forest reserve in Manaus, Brazil | We conducted field observations in Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke, Manaus, AM, and observed eight predation events |
| surveying frogs | All observations were occasional and realized during surveys of nocturnal anurans. |
| measured the spider's body | measures of the body size represent the cephalotorax and abdomen length to spiders and snout-vent length (SVL) to frogs |
| Across the spider-and-frog cases the review gathered, the spider was about the same length as its prey or slightly shorter. | The size of the spider is similar or slightly lesser than the anuran prey. |
| from snout to vent | snout-vent length (SVL) to frogs |
| A 2005 review | Phyllomedusa - 4(1), October 2005 (note: publication year for both '2005 review' mentions (body and FAQ)) |