Heteropoda cervina
Heteropoda cervina
''Heteropoda cervina'', commonly called the brown huntsman, is a large species of spider in the Sparassidae family often found in leaf litter in Australia. The species was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1875.
All huntsman spiders are nocturnal, and ''H. cervina'' shelters under bark during the day, emerging in the evening to find prey, often on tree trunks. They are also known to enter houses, though they are extremely timid, and their bite – while painful – is only mildly toxic. Their unequally sized legs, after which the genus is named, give them a crab-like appearance, and enable them to move very quickly in any direction. They have strong, curved fangs, a flattened body and two sets of four eyes. Males and females look alike, though the latter are larger. Females lay their eggs in large "cocoons". They are very similar in appearance to the related species ''Heteropoda jugulans''.
All huntsman spiders are nocturnal, and ''H. cervina'' shelters under bark during the day, emerging in the evening to find prey, often on tree trunks. They are also known to enter houses, though they are extremely timid, and their bite – while painful – is only mildly toxic. Their unequally sized legs, after which the genus is named, give them a crab-like appearance, and enable them to move very quickly in any direction. They have strong, curved fangs, a flattened body and two sets of four eyes. Males and females look alike, though the latter are larger. Females lay their eggs in large "cocoons". They are very similar in appearance to the related species ''Heteropoda jugulans''.
