Giant Spider fossil Gulgong NSW

[user 4485]

Giant spider fossil from Gulgong NSW:
https://interestingengineering.com/...oScFNnYyRFUj2GG_rwtwJL8iUu6PGtzh-SqO-aBSWLNg4

 

[Martin]

Amazing stuff.

 

[MegsyB007]

Spiders don't bother me, generally, but that one gets a YIKES!! Holy...

 

[Manpa]

Helluva thong required to flatten that!

 

[Martin]

Helluva thong required to flatten that!

Might need the big thongs from the Calen Pub in Queensland for that job

 

[Moneybox]

It would be interesting to know the size? Five times its living relitive but I've not seen one of those.

 

[user 4485]

That's not super huge, as Monodontium are usually pretty small, but it's still the second-largest spider fossil ever found, globally. Megamonodontium mccluskyi's body measures 23.31 millimeters, or just under an inch. With its legs spread, it might fit comfortably into the palm of your hand.

Well that takes the "giant" down a peg or three.
I was expecting it to be like small dog size.
Still a good find & 2nd biggest spider fossil ever found globally so I guess the description got carried away a bit.

 

[Martin]

Yeah they should add a ruler next to the object when taking photos.

It is the first-ever spider fossil found of the Barychelidae family – similar to the living genus Monodontium (a brush-footed trapdoor spider), but five times larger and measuring about 50mm from toe to toe

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/giant-spider-fossil-species-australia-b2417781.html

 

[Dave's Office]

When I lived in Brisbane, the spiders in the mango tree in my backyard would have been 5 times as big, they were a very scary spiders.🕷

 

[sand surfer]

were they about the size of a 20 to 50 cent piece dave (when they enclosed themselves )
and when poked with a stick they would give charlotte the huntsman a run for her money

 

[Nightjar]

Don't get the "giant" spider bit.
Mr T had a leg span of 140mm.
Real gentle giant, ate out of my hand.
Why would you want to slap it with a thong? Maybe lack of mentality?

 

[Dave's Office]

were they about the size of a 20 to 50 cent piece dave (when they enclosed themselves )
and when poked with a stick they would give charlotte the huntsman a run for her money

I reckon they were the size of dinner plates Grumpy, mind you, I was terrified of spiders, when I was a kid I had no trouble handling snakes but I'd run a mile from a spider, the first time I climbed up the tree to pick some mango's, I fell out of the tree when I saw them, and there was heaps of them, I never climbed the tree again, I got a ladder and used a rake to rip the mango's off.