The Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi) is a spider belonging to the tarantula family Theraphosidae. It is the largest spider in the world. By leg-span, it is second to the giant huntsman spider, but it is the largest by mass. It is also called the Goliath bird-eating spider; the practice of calling theraphosids "bird-eating" derives from an early 18th-century copper engraving by Maria Sibylla Merian that shows one eating a hummingbird. It only rarely preys on adult birds. The goliath birdeater is native to the upland rain forest regions of northern South America: Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana, northern Brazil and southern Venezuela. The spider is terrestrial, living in deep burrows, and is found commonly in marshy or swampy areas. It is a nocturnal species. The spider is part of the local cuisine in northeastern South America, prepared by singeing off the urticating hairs and roasting it in banana leaves. The flavor has been described as "shrimplike". Unlike other species of spide...