That’s where I expect this photo of unknown provenance was taken.
If you can already guess what kind of large critter you’d find in Australia might be, you don’t have to look below the fold.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Queensland.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3200356/amp/Massive-spider-gives-homeowner-shock-covering-electricity-meter-HUNDREDS-creepy-babies.html
Wolf spider.
That’s not a croc!
Crikey! Well, eventually! Dóh!
Or for that matter a kangaroo, emu or barramundi. Or for thatmatter a Blue Ringed Octopus, Platrypus, Bandicoot or echnida.
Ah, our wonderful local native fauna, so many species to choose from.. even now despite our rater of biodiversity loss and extinction..
I guess we could call this a black swan event?
An arachnid getting the focus over our mammalian, avian and reptilian inhabitants..
Pretty sure I’ve sene more black swans than white one’s personally speaking.
I’d definitely leave her where she is doing a fine job of scaring away the meter reader.
Well you could tell it wasn’t the USA right away. I mean, 240V?
Actually, we do have 240V…two 120V lines that are 180° out of phase, the 240V being used to power such things as air conditioners. But the 50Hz is a dead giveaway (although it still could be the British Isles, or maybe other parts of the world whose electricity I don’t know about).
I’ll save this picture. I can forward it to my wife if I ever want a divorce.
Where the Ef is the fold!?
BTW, I never would have been scared away of this mommy protecting her offspring.
Great mothers, Wolf Spiders. And completely harmless.
Yeah, that one’s going to take an extra can of Raid.
Just. Fucking. NO.
“Your electricity is free this quarter”
(No arachnophobia, just leaving the mum to do her thing in peace)
This hatred of spiders (7, 11, 12) completely baffles me. What other group of animals would inspire such hate by a photo of a mother guarding its babies?
Careful there, mate. She might just grab that can and set to sprayin’ it in your face.
14 – nomdeplume
Have you ever set a cucumber unnoticed next to a cat? The visceral reaction kitty has to seeing that much-too-close snake is what I feel with this disgusting-fanged creepy-crawly long-time evolutionary enemy of my own. Smart kitty.
I think I’d rather have the spiders than dogs considering a meter reader was mauled to death a few days ago.
@14
I wonder about that as well. When I was a kid i played with spiders and am still completely fascinated by them. I will admit I am startled by black widows when I come upon then by surprise. may part of that fear comes from the spiders awareness, they are singularly going about their own business which is mostly about food, shelter and reproduction. I do not know not very different from anything else really maybe it has to do with their rushing about some times. Or maybe it is just a learned response on the part of the arachnophob?
Huntsman spider. Not a wolf spider.
But of course it had to be Australia.
“Come to Australia; You Might Accidentally Get Killed”.
Warning: contains spiders.
@19 – My first thought was Huntsman, but the caption says Wolf. Difficult angle to judge from, but the location says Huntsman not Wolf. Both are good mothers.
She is just so beautiful. I encounter plenty of huntsman spiders because part of my job here in Eastern Australia is to collect information from inside meter boxes and even behind the switchboard. Usually if disturbed inside their safe place they just freeze to not attract attention. I also occasionally encounter antechinus families too, though more frequently the occupants of meter boxes are single gecko – geckos don’t really do social groups because unlike many huntsman spiders they are prone to eating their offspring – and most people think geckos are cute!
That EM500 / EM1000 meter is about 130mm wide which gives some indication of the size of this particularly spectacular specimen.
Is there any humane way to transfer mother and kids to a less intrusive site?
.
Recalling The Puppet Masters, it looks the right size to climb into the esophagus and drive a pseudopod around the vertebra and into the spine
(yes, I know it attacked from the opposite direction in the film. I am going by the TV series using an arachnid creature).
@14 — get back to me after one of these fuckers has run straight at you like some kind of berserker.