Mr. Tea's Top 10 Badass Phenomena

Dr Awesome

Techsteppin'

By a strange stroke of luck I happened across this video today:

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Dr Awesome

Techsteppin'
anyway sorry to derail the thread Tea, here's something badass and terrifying - a frog-eating spider


Pft, frogs.

bird-web.jpg


bird-spider.jpg


golden-orb-weaver.jpg


big-spider.jpg


I don't normally mind insects or spiders but that thing gives me the creeps.
 

BareBones

wheezy
ohmygod that is horrific. i'm a bit of a pussy with insects and creepy crawlies i have to admit. i really have a thing about moths. i often find myself feeling incredibly grateful that bugs in general are only little. i mean if those spiders were like the size of cows or something, then what would we do eh?
 

Dr Awesome

Techsteppin'
Car sized praying mantises. Cat sized ants. Wasps and bees the size of big electrical appliances.
That's some dystopian shit right there. Positively swampy. Triassic even.

One of my high school maths teachers once told me that bug's can't get bigger due to their exoskeletons, they can't support as much weight as internal skeletons when scaled up or something. Thank goodness.
 
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Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I was just going to say, thank heavens for scaling laws!

Top work guys, fire tornadoes are properly badass and spiders that eat mammals are pretty good too.
 
Car sized praying mantises. Cat sized ants. Wasps and bees the size of big electrical appliances.
That's some dystopian shit right there. Positively swampy. Triassic even.

One of my high school maths teachers once told me that bug's can't get bigger due to their exoskeletons, they can't support as much weight as internal skeletons when scaled up or something. Thank goodness.

It's more to do with oxygen diffusing into the interior of the arthropod. Gigantic insects and arachnids only flourished when oxygen levels were higher in prehistory.
 

Dr Awesome

Techsteppin'
It's more to do with oxygen diffusing into the interior of the arthropod. Gigantic insects and arachnids only flourished when oxygen levels were higher in prehistory.

Ah, that's something good to know. I suppose not having lungs (or gills etc) must make it a bit harder to get all the Oxygen you need.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I think both reasons are valid, because body strength and oxygen absorbtion are subject to scaling laws. I mean, even if you compare a money spider with a tarantula, they're built quite differently.

But yeah, the breathing issue is obviously much less of a problem in a more oxygen-rich atmosphere. I'm sure I read somewhere about six-foot-long centipedes (and not just in Naked Lunch). :eek:
 
D

droid

Guest
Pft, frogs.

bird-web.jpg


bird-spider.jpg


golden-orb-weaver.jpg


big-spider.jpg


I don't normally mind insects or spiders but that thing gives me the creeps.

Those pics are very deceptive. Its a golden orb weaver, only about a 2 1/2" leg span. It looks huge there.

I think the largest spider is some kind of huntsman and has a legspan of about a foot.
 
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