Hello, sup! Been a while since we've had any themes, so for the next few days we're going on a merry romp across the globe, taking a look at animals from each continent. I'm going to try to showcase animals I haven't shown before, which is why today there aren't any elephants or lions or giraffes or hippos, as cute as they can be. And if that wasn't obvious enough, well- it's time for Africa!


secretary bird


blue cranes


cape sugarbird


meerkats


kudu


puku


bongo


duiker


blesbuck


vervet monkeys


striped field mouse


southern african spiny mouse

And...













An african spider!


source

This is the Darwin's Bark Spider, or Caerostris darwini. If you've ever wondered just how big spiders can make their webs, then this is the spider that you'll be looking for. These orb weavers produce some of the largest webs in the world. The webs alone can go up to 28,000 centimeters squared in area, and their anchor lines can be up to 25 meters in length (or 82 feet, for those of you more comfortable with those units).

As for why they'd need such incredible webs, well, that's because they build their homes right across rivers or lakes. They're pretty much the only spiders that really do this, which is definitely a little crazy. Still, it's very impressive!


source

Hello, sup! Been a while since we've had any themes, so for the next few days we're going on a merry romp across the globe, taking a look at animals from each continent. I'm going to try to showcase animals I haven't shown before, which is why today there aren't any elephants or lions or giraffes or hippos, as cute as they can be. And if that wasn't obvious enough, well- it's time for Africa! <img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5100/5517486974_e98fe4fba0.jpg"> <small><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/51710461@N07/5517486974">secretary bird</a></small> <img src="http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1193/4727325561_24f98b9e20.jpg"> <small><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/28560980@N07/4727325561">blue cranes</a></small> <img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5260/5475024072_1373897af1.jpg"> <small><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/48989890@N04/5475024072">cape sugarbird</a></small> <img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3623/3573582930_90b31e5ac7.jpg"> <small><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/35110249@N05/3573582930">meerkats</a></small> <img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4042/5145588214_3f4255335f.jpg"> <small><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/44325212@N08/5145588214">kudu</a></small> <img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4012/4213787269_35481f6604.jpg"> <small><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/33683295@N04/4213787269">puku</a></small> <img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8012/7431915086_4bfbae6729.jpg"> <small><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24832955@N02/7431915086">bongo</a></small> <img src="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/173/419792594_72e277b5ca.jpg"> <small><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/15745225@N00/419792594">duiker</a></small> <img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2266/2241641748_e7fd1f029c.jpg"> <small><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/94137765@N00/2241641748">blesbuck</a></small> <img src="http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1049/4603754058_477138a94b.jpg"> <small><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/8484743@N02/4603754058">vervet monkeys</a></small> <img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5127/5234900823_76d71837fc.jpg"> <small><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/24565602@N07/5234900823">striped field mouse</a></small> <img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3653/3595935290_ebaf94fa21.jpg"> <small><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/14665136@N00/3595935290">southern african spiny mouse</a></small> And... An african spider! <img src="http://i.imgur.com/Mz3An.png"> <small><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin's_bark_spider">source</a></small> This is the Darwin's Bark Spider, or <i>Caerostris darwini</i>. If you've ever wondered just how big spiders can make their webs, then this is the spider that you'll be looking for. These orb weavers produce some of the largest webs in the world. The webs alone can go up to 28,000 centimeters squared in area, and their anchor lines can be up to 25 meters in length (or 82 feet, for those of you more comfortable with those units). As for why they'd need such incredible webs, well, that's because they build their homes right across rivers or lakes. They're pretty much the only spiders that really do this, which is definitely a little crazy. Still, it's very impressive! <img src="http://i.imgur.com/V3s8Z.png"> <small><a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/strong-materials.html">source</a></small>