It is the stuff of nightmares to encounter a spider that is so big it can eat a possum. The image of a large ʜᴜɴᴛsman spider devouring its mamMᴀʟɪan meal instantly went viral after being posted on the Internet.

The photos of the spider eating a pygmy possum at Mount Field Lodge were uploaded by Justine Latton, and they have now been shared more than 7000 times. Latton claims that while he was staying at the ski lodge, her husband noticed the giant spider and snapped a photo of it with the tiny possum caught between a few of its legs.

Ms. Latton, a native of Nᴇᴡ Zᴇᴀʟᴀɴᴅ, stated that over the nearly two decades she has resided in Tasmania, she has seen countless ʜᴜɴᴛsman spiders. She claimed that she disliked eight-legged animals. She has never seen a spider catch a mammal. She guessed that was the reason there was so much curiosity about it.

The Aᴜsᴛʀᴀʟɪᴀn Museum claims that the spider is a typical species of long-legged tarantula in Aᴜsᴛʀᴀʟɪᴀ. For male spiders, the typical body length is 0.5 inches, whereas for female spiders, it can reach 0.8 inches. Its legs may expand to a length of 5.9 inches.

Spiders are frequently seen living under loose bark on trees, in gaps in rock walls and logs, under rocks and bark slabs on the ground, and on vegetation, according to the museum.

Src: thepressagge.com