It's a Hobo spider, one of the very, very few poisonous spiders we have in the Northwest. I've seen a few of them in the few years I've lived in Portland, OR.
I'm not a spider expert, but if you intend to keep it (I know I would, provided I got the courage to capture it and not squash it right away :P), this looks helpfull: http://www.wikihow.com/Keep-Spiders-As-Pets
I live in the area and have run into them myself, so I did a similar jaunt around the net a few years back trying to identify one. Not an expert or anything, 'course.
Anyways, I don't think it's a brown recluse or hobo spider, though who knows. I doubt that it's especially venomous.
Hobo spiders don't generally grow that large ( http://www.wikihow.com/Identify-a-Hobo-Spider ) and it doesn't look anything like a brown recluse.
However, I've been told you can't actually discern hobo spiders from the similar species around here on looks alone, and I wouldn't rely on size. Basically I wouldn't recommend letting it bite you, since if it is a hobo spider, it may end up being one of your biggest regrets in life. ;x
Ah, if it does have the chevrons then that's probably close enough to an identification to assume it's not friendly. I couldn't tell from the original photos.
Nuke from orbit. </onlywaytobesure>.
I think he/she is a cutie too
I would never kill it.
It seems to be on the upper spectrum of maturity, given its size and distinctiveness of features. It would be so wrong to end it.
Think I'm going to go to petco and get some habitat stuff for it.
It may be of similar species to the Hobo spider, if not one itself. Well, the wiki on it says that the markings do not become very fine until it is advanced in maturity. So, perhaps it really is one, and it is at the pinnacle of its existence.
Last edited by Rorillane; 2013-04-27 at 12:16 AM.
Looks like a hobo spider, don't kill it, since u are in a country land just take it to some place where u can release it, away from humans.
That's not a behemoth. This is a behemoth. http://southcarolina1670.files.wordp...ria-rajaei.jpg
New species of spider they found that's large enough to cover your face. Your FACE.
Thank you for this! I wasn't sure if they needed water or if it was provided from the food they eat and stuff.
We kind of just plopped him into a jar that he webbed up at the bottom, and that was that >_> I will set up a nice home for it so it can live happily under my control :3
Fear is one of the main reasons our species is still alive, just FYI. And it would be completely warranted in this case - Hobo spiders are poisonous to humans, and from my understanding, quite painfully so. They don't attack unless provoked (unlike black widows or recluses) but when they do, they get angry as fuck. And keeping it cooped up in a container is definitely going to piss it off.
Have you ever once stopped to think that this seemingly irrational fear of spiders may have actually stemmed from something in humanity's history? Hell, have you SEEN the bloody spiders they have in Australia? There's no such thing as a non-poisonous spider there...it's all about "is it poisonous to kill me, or just rot one of my legs off?".
And there's a huge difference between fear, and just finding something repulsive. My mom can't stand slugs, but it's not that she's AFRAID of them. She just thinks they're disgusting. I personally am mortally AFRAID of spiders, and squeal like a little girl whenever I find them in places they frankly shouldn't be. However, for some reason I am fascinated by their structure - I think it's one of the coolest shapes in nature. I love spider-based mobs and whatnot in games, and I love robotic spiders and such in games as well. It's just the live versions I have something against lol.
Last edited by Mifuyne; 2013-04-27 at 02:09 AM.