Goliath tarantula and titan lumberjack: 10 largest invertebrates in the world

1. Japanese spider crab

It's charming Creation, as if coming from the movie "The Mist" based on the novel by Stephen King, lives off the southern coast of the Japanese island of Honshu. And in fact, it is absolutely harmless, as it feeds only on small mollusks and carrion, as well as vegetation.

The weight of the spider crab reaches 19 kilograms. Also, he can boast of the largest leg size among all arthropods. The distance between the spread claws in especially large individuals can reach 3.7 meters.

2. hairy cyanoea

hairy cyanoea - a hefty creature with a bunch of tentacles. She is the "lion's mane". And it's the largest known in the world jellyfish. The length of its tentacles can reach 37 meters, and the diameter of the dome is 2 meters.

Cyanea drifts in the northern seas of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, grabbing small fish with its processes and sending it to the mouth opening at the bottom of the dome.

Despite the harsh appearance, for a man, a jellyfish not dangerous. The touch of her tentacles causes pain and redness of the skin, but is not capable of killing. However, a diver stung by cyanide can panic and drown, so it’s still not worth joking with such a hulk.

3. Antarctic giant squid

He is colossal squid. These epithets are given to it to distinguish it from the mere giant squid, which belongs to a different species. It lives in the Southern Ocean - the so-called parts of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans surrounding Antarctica.

The weight of the largest colossal squid ever measured reached 500 kilograms. And judging by the beaks found in the stomachs of sperm whales, for larger specimens and 700 kilograms is not the limit.

In length, squids can grow up to 10-14 meters. In addition, these marine inhabitants have the largest eyes of any known animal.

4. Giant forest scorpion

In most non-fiction books, the largest scorpion in the world is called the emperor. But the giant forest scorpion surpasses him: in length he reaches 23 centimeters. This creature lives in India, settling in abandoned termite mounds, rat holes and in the embankments of agricultural fields.

Despite their huge size, scorpion for a person not dangerous. The fact is that he does not rely on the power of poison, but on the power of his huge claws. That's, in fact, why he is so huge: he relied on size and physical damage, and not on a toxin.

5. giant tridacna

love oysters? Here is their king. This giant clam lives on the border of the Pacific and Indian oceans. Tridacna lives in symbiosis with special algae that settle in its mantle and feed the mollusk through photosynthesis. The dimensions of its shell can reach 120 centimeters in cross section, and weight - 200 kilograms.

Tridacna is able to produce large irregularly shaped pearls. The largest known pearl weighs 34 kilograms.

Tridacna has been described in the past as a "killer clam" and a cannibal, and the U.S. Navy diving manual even printed instructions on how to free yourself if such a monster grabs you. But now it is known that the tridacna will not be able to hold a person: its valves do not close tightly enough, and it cannot close them completely.

6. goliath tarantula

Arachnophobia get ready to run: here is the largest spider in the world, called the tarantula because it can easily swallow a small bird. Although still more often his diet constitute small mammals and lizards. Spider birds are much more difficult to catch because they can fly.

The tarantula, like its other relatives, injects gastric juice into the body of the prey with its fangs, which digests the tissues alive. And then it remains only to suck in the nutritious gruel.

Leg span of the tarantula reaches 30 centimeters, and weight - 170 grams. He does not know how to weave giant nets - but with such sizes he does not need it.

But he has another feature: in case of danger spider rubs its abdomen with its hind legs, scattering hairs from the body around itself, which lead to irritation of the eyes and respiratory tract of aggressors. If they run out, the desperate spider enters into hand-to-hand combat.

And he, by the way, has a rival - a giant hunter spider, which is a little surpasses him in the span of his legs. But his body is much less massive.

And the tarantula is also popular with terrariumists. If the owner does not care for him well, the spider from stress rips off from the belly all the hair and walks bald, nervous and aggressive.

7. Giant sea spider

Strictly speaking, this is not a spider, but a separate species of marine organisms with long legs. The span of the limbs of some specimens reaches 50, and in some cases 70 centimeters.

At the same time, the sea spider has a very small body, and all the organs necessary for life are there. do not fit. Therefore, part of the intestines, as well as the genitals, are located in his legs.

The spider reproduces with the help of legs, secreting eggs through them, and they also carry offspring on them. breathes. Such an awkward, but original creature, reminiscent of a haymaker.

8. Giant centipede

This multi-legged monster achieve 40 centimeters long. It lives in the north and west of South America and preys on insects, spiders, lizards, frogs, birds, rodents and even bats. Yes, centipede crawls into caves where mice rest during the day, climbs on the ceiling and attacks sleeping bats.

Scolopendra is poisonous - its bite is very painful and causes fever, weakness, and swelling. But, as a rule, all this passes in a few days. At least in adults - a scolopendra child is completely Maybe send to the next world. For example, in 2014 such a centipede killed a four-year-old resident of Venezuela, hiding in a soda can.

9. lumberjack titan

This beetle lives in the rainforests of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Guiana and north-central Brazil. The length of the largest individuals achieve 22 centimeters. This is one of the largest insects in the world.

Only the stick is longer than him, but he is very thin and light. And the woodcutter-titanium is not only great, but also has considerable weight - up to 26 grams.

This beetle does not eat, but lives off the subcutaneous fat reserves accumulated while it was a larva. She gnaws huge passages in rotting wood and accumulates nutrients, and then pupates into a titan and goes to search for a female. There is no need for a beetle, but bites he is notable: if necessary, he will gnaw through his finger to the bone, and bite the pencil in half.

The beetle is interesting in that, in fact, no one saw its larvae - only those left by them holes in wood 5 centimeters wide and up to 30 deep.

10. Giant West African snail

Finally, it does not hurt to mention one of the terrestrial mollusks. Here, for example, is a giant West African snail, which capable grow up to 21 centimeters in length.

It is common in West Africa, but also found in North America. Presumably, she got there as a pet. Then the owners threw out the annoying pet, and he began to multiply ...

Snail eats various plants, including important crops such as bananas, lettuce, peanuts and peas. In addition, she is a carrier of the parasitic rat lung worm, which causes severe meningoencephalitis in humans. Therefore, despite the cute appearance, this snail is dangerous, and in the United States they are trying to exterminate it.