Cerbalus Aravensis: World's Largest Spider Found in Israel

by Jordan Yerman | January 12, 2010 at 09:45 am

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The Cerbalus aravensis, the largest spider of its kind, was discovered in the rapidly-vanishing Arava desert in Israel. The Cerbalus aravensis is a nocturnal spider that constructs its home underground, complete with a hinged door to hide from predators. The Cerbalus aravensis has a leg span of 5.5 inches, and is considered the largest of the funnelweb family in the Middle East.

The Cerbalus aravensis lives in a rapidly-disappearing habitat: the Arava now covers only one square mile: a single sand dune. Currently there are no plans to halt nearby mining and agricultural projects, so this giant spider's habitat will likely vanish very soon. Hey, it might show up in your living room. Did we mention that the Cerbalus aravensis is huge?

The latest type of spider, of the Cerbalus family, was found in the Samar sand dune in the southern Arava. It is the last dune left in the region, said Shines. In the past, the sand dunes covered 7 square kilometers, but as the area has turned into agriculture land and the sand has been collected for construction, fewer than 3 square kilometers are lef