However,the discussion isn’t really arguing that, from what I understand the topic is about a giant spider that is yet unclassified, perhaps we could discuss how a spider could reach those lengths with adaptation and what that the most likely adaptations or changes in body structure that would entail. That would be insightful.

Anyhoo, on cryptozoology.com William J. Gibbons is quoted as saying (from his expedition report from the congo in search of Mokele Mbembe):

“In 1938, Mr. & Mrs. R.K. Lloyd of London, England were driving along a forest road in the former Belgian Congo, when they became aware of a large animate object moving across the road ahead of them. At first they took the object to be a large monkey or jungle cat. However, as they approached the creature, the Lloyd’s curiosity turned to horror as they came face-to-face with a gigantic brown spider. Mr. Lloyd attempted unsuccessfully to retrieve his camera as the giant arachnid simply walked into the forest and disappeared. On this third expedition to Equatorial Africa, I (Gibbons) took the opportunity to enquire if the pygmies knew of such a creature, and indeed they did! The Baka word for spider is Fofi (pronounced foo fee), and Jba means ‘great.’ They speak of the Jba Fofi, which is a ‘giant’ or ‘great spider’. They described a spider that is generally brown in color with a purple abdomen. They grow to quite an enormous size with a leg span of at least five feet. The giant arachnids weave together a lair made of leaves similar in shape to a traditional pygmy hut, and spin a circular web (said to be very strong) between two trees with a strand stretched across a game trail. These giant ground-dwelling spiders prey on the diminutive forest antelope (duiker), birds, and other small game, and are said to be extremely dangerous, not to mention highly venomous. The spiders are said to lay white, peanut-sized eggs in a cluster, and the pygmies give them a wide birth when encountered, but have killed them in the past. The giant spiders were once very common but are now a rare sight. Their dwindling numbers are blamed on the continuing deforestation of their habitat, but they are still encountered from time to time. The Baka chief, Timbo, casually mentioned to us that a giant spider had taken up residence in the forest just behind his village in November 2000, when I (Gibbons) and Dave Woetzel from New Hampshire had visited him! He did not think that we would have been interested in the creature as our interest was focused on Mokele-mbembe at the time! Valuable evidence had eluded us.”

I have heard that the louisiana spider doesn’t exist, but the J’ba Fofi (congo spider) does in fact exist, and reaches size of about 10 feet.

I don’t have any spider stories to share but I think it is important to point out the many personal experiences shared in this column by those who have encountered spiders (as well as other insects) of incredibly large size! I mean, we often accept the friend of a friend’s account about bigfoot, and we have here people who have witnessed first hand giant spiders! I realize and appreciate the argument that limit the size of such creatures and I don’t discount them, but are we absolutely sure that such creatures, no matter how improbable, cannot exist? Is it possible that some unknown biological adaptation might allow a spider to grow to such a large size? Spiders are, after all, one of the most successful species ever created, perhaps we should not too quickly dismiss such eyewitness descriptions?

I too think that spiders cannot really be compared with a terrestrial crustacean like the coconut crab. They have two very different body designs, and even with the coconut crab you are pushing the limits of the size a land arthropod could physically reach. Also, if anyone looks at how a coconut crab moves, they are not swift or stealthy at all. They are actually rather awkward and slow, precisely because they are so big, with heavy, unwieldy exoskeletons. You just are not going to get an arthropod that big scurrying around with any sort of speed.

In my opinion, based on the biology and physics involved, a spider is unlikely to get much bigger than the current record holders. Spiders the size of dogs or bigger are just not probable at all. It is exactly the same reason why I am very skeptical of giant spiders.

Nevertheless, deadx, your story has officially freaked me out. Thanks for the nightmares tonight.

If I remember it correctly, the explorer thought it was a wizened pygmy making his way through the swamps ahead. When he got close he saw that it was in fact a massive spider.

Also, with this flashback I’m surprised no one has updated it with the spider caught in the orb weaver’s web: horrifying