Huntsman Spider

"Huntsman spider" is the common name for a group of large, long-legged spiders in the Sparassidae family. In March 2009 a large spider was captured alive in a banana shipment at a Whole Foods store in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Originally identified as a Banana Spider, it was turned over to the University of Tulsa Animal Facilities director. Days later a Tulsa Zoo official disputed the identification and danger of the spider, claiming it was a Huntsman spider. However, the spider was destroyed by the university before a second positive identification could be made. School officials are investigating why the creature was destroyed.Fox News: 'Worlds Deadliest Spider' found ... (March 20, 2009)

Between 90 and 100 species of huntsman spiders have been discovered in Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, the Mediterranean, Florida and Hawaii.Animal Corner: Huntsman Spider Australian Museum Online: Huntsman Spiders

In December of 2008, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced that the largest huntsman spider had been discovered living in Laotian caves. The spider, which was named Heteropoda maxima, measured 30 centimeters (nearly 12 inches) across. Scientists deemed it the "most remarkable" of the 88 new spider species discovered during a 10-year-long wildlife study of the Greater Mekong Region of Southeast Asia. Over 1,000 new species of plants and animals and several thousand species of microscopic invertebrates were also discovered during the survey.WWF: More than 1000 New Species Discovered in Rivers... (December 15, 2008) The Australian: Plate-sized spider among 1068 new species found in Mekong (December 15, 2008)