Largest arachnid leg span

The largest arachnid leg span is that of the giant huntsman spider Heteropoda maxima, whose leg span can grow to 30 cm across, slightly exceeding that of the largest spider, the goliath bird-eating spider Theraphosa blondi, whose leg span measures up to 28 cm across. However, it is heavier than the giant huntsman. The latter species is native to Laos, in southeastern Asia.

Despite its very large size and record-breaking leg span, this species remained undiscovered and undescribed by science until as recently as 2001. It was found in a cave, and following its discovery a WWF spokesman was quoted as stating: "Some of these species really have no business being recently discovered", i.e., meaning that it was so eyecatching that it ought to have become known to science much earlier, but because the cave had not been explored before it had escaped formal detection.