Audit Expert: Ran Hao
Well-known popular science writer
Xiaobian previously took you to analyze the possible prototype of the terrible monster "Iron Head Dragon King" in the Yellow River (review poke here) in the real world. Today we will take a look at another "heavyweight" monster , the human-faced spider. What is its prototype?
Officially called the "chuí", the terrifying spider is so large that it is powerful enough to drag two adults; it is black all over, and the white pattern on the back makes up a pattern that resembles a human face. Unlike ordinary spiders, the human-faced black cockroach does not hunt in a web, but wins by its large size and deadly venom.
Photo: Stills from "Dragon Ridge Labyrinth"
Although the "human-faced black cockroach" is only an imaginary creature, based on its "human face", huge size and strong toxicity, we may wish to speculate on its real-life prototype.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > spider with a human face pattern</h1>
Let's first see what spiders have with human face patterns. In fact, broadly speaking, there are many kinds of "human-faced spiders" in nature, such as many species of spiders in the genus Bride, Cover Spider and Flower Crab Spider have human face patterns. It's just that these patterns are not very vivid images, not so much like human faces, but like abstract grimaces.
For example, the strange-looking black-spotted garden spider (Araneus mitificus).
The "human face" even has a beard
The spider below doesn't look so joyful.
Nephila pilipes, also known as the hairy bride, is a species of spider in the genus Neopteridae in the family Arachnidae. Their bodies are black and yellow, their abdomen is slender, and the pattern on the back of the chest forms a relatively simple human face pattern, which is eye-catching in the "spider world".
The brides are widely distributed throughout Southeast Asia, and if you look closely, you can sometimes find them in the woods and gardens. They are not large: females are 30–50 mm long and males are 5–10 mm long; however, the nets they weave are very large, often spanning between two trees and reaching up to 3 m in diameter. They also use toxins, but they are not toxic enough to harm humans and can only bully their prey.
The "human face" pattern in the spider family is actually not uncommon, but many times it is necessary to carefully observe to see the "human face" on them.
In any case, the mysterious "human face" pattern can always arouse people's curiosity and fear. Although the "human face" of the "human face black cockroach" in the play may come from the pattern on the bride of the spotted bride. However, the two do not seem to have much in common: the spotted bride is not very large, and she is slender, and she is conscientiously knotted every day, and she does not look like a ferocious monster. So, which spiders are closer in appearance, habits, and mysterious "human-faced black cockroaches"?
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > large spider</h1>
I believe that many friends have seen some large spiders in zoos or documentaries. These "giants" of the spider world are often the prototypes of spider monsters in various film and television works and fantasy novels.
In terms of mass and volume, the largest spider is a member of the bird-catching arachnid family Theraphosidae. The best of these, the Goliath-eating bird-eating spider (Theraphosa blondi), can reach a body length of up to 12 cm, a foot span of up to 28 cm, and a weight of up to 175 grams.
Huge bird-catching spider, picture from the watermark
Goliath Bird-Eater Spider
Although given the names "bird catcher" and "bird eater" by humans, they rarely prey on birds; in the wild, their diet is mainly for other large arthropods, worms and amphibians. Due to their body size advantage, they attack more freely, and even prey on small terrestrial vertebrates. Some bird-catching spiders have been observed in the wild feeding on rodents, frogs, toads, lizards and even snakes.
Bird-catching spiders generally secrete less virulence and are only comparable to the venom of wasps. Their weapons are fangs (i.e., claws) at the front of their bodies, which are difficult for most animals to handle under the bite.
Amazing claws, which look very scary
Bird-catching spiders have fine hairs around them. When threatened by predators, bird-catching spiders will rub the stinging on their abdomen and legs to warn the intruder that these stings are naturally itchy powder that can effectively help them get rid of predatory attacks when they are threatened by predators.
The various habits of bird-catching spiders are similar to the "human-faced black cockroaches" in the play, and perhaps the monsters in the play are the terrifying images caused by people's psychological shadows of large spiders.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > highly venomous spider</h1>
Finally, let's focus on spider venom. Although the image of "poisonous spiders" is deeply rooted in people's hearts, in fact, most spiders are not deadly enough toxins. The "Human-Faced Spider" in the TV series can spray a large amount of venom, causing a chemical-like effect. In fact, spider toxins are mainly neurotoxins and hemolytic toxins.
The Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria fera) is one of the most venomous spiders in the world known. Its brazilian stray spider (Phoneutria nigriventer) is also very toxic.
The Brazilian wandering spider belongs to the family ctenopodidae , mainly distributed in Central and South America. Just 6 micrograms of venom can kill 200 rats. This spider secretes neurotoxins that can cause functional damage to multiple systems in the human body, including severe pain, arrhythmias, difficulty breathing, and even death if not treated in time.
In addition to its strong toxicity, the habits of the Brazilian wandering spider have also led to frequent injuries. First, they lie out at night and like to hide in banana trees, and local banana farmers are often attacked by them; second, they neither form nets nor burrow, but are used to wandering and foraging, and will catch and eat suitable prey along the way. Naturally, they also "wander" to areas of human activity. In every province of Brazil, there are hundreds of incidents of spiders injuring people in Brazil every year.
At this point, we have found the constituent elements of the "human face black ant" in nature - the human face pattern, the huge size, the fierce character and the deadly venom. I only hope that such a terrible creature will never appear in real life.