The Giant Japanese funnel-web spider, known formally as Gigathele gigas, is a species of funnel-web spider in the family Macrothelidae.[1] It is one of the largest funnel-web spiders in the world, and is highly venomous.[2] The species was previously assigned to genus Macrothele, but was assigned to Gigathele in 2025.[3]
| Giant Japanese funnel-web spider | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Female Gigathele gigas | |
 | |
| Male Gigathele gigas | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Family: | Macrothelidae |
| Genus: | Gigathele |
| Species: | G. gigas |
| Binomial name | |
| Gigathele gigas Shimojana & Haupt, 1998 | |
Description
editMembers of the species are typically black with red fangs protruding from the mouth. When fully grown, spiders in the species can grow to have a leg span of ~6 inches (15 cm), making them one of the largest funnel-web spider species in the world.[4] The spider is exclusive to the Ryukyu Islands in Japan.
Venom
editThe spider is venomous, and typical symptoms after a bite can include unnatural amounts of perspiration, goose bumps, hypertension and tachycardia.[2]
Sources
edit- ↑ taxonomy. "Taxonomy browser (Gigathele gigas)". www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2026-06-05.
- 1 2 Luo, Yi; Mao, Yan-Chiao; Liu, Po-Yu; Chiang, Liao-Chun; Lai, Kuo-Lung; Chien, Ju-Ying (2022-07-15). "A potential life-threatening Asian funnel-web spider bite (Macrothele gigas) in central Taiwan". Toxicon. 213: 83–86. Bibcode:2022Txcn..213...83L. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2022.04.010. ISSN 1879-3150. PMID 35447105.
- ↑ "Gigathele gigas". World Spider Catalog. 2026.
- ↑ "Macrothele gigas". Hardcore Arachnids. Retrieved 2024-08-28.
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