This huge, venomous spider from the tropics with the likeness of a skull on its back has been found in a box of bananas at a German supermarket.
The discovery of the spider led to the fire brigade being called to the supermarket in the city of Krefeld, which is located in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, on Monday, 31st January.
The alarm was raised by supermarket employees, who discovered the spider in a box of bananas shipped to Germany from the Dominican Republic, according to the Fire Brigade.
The supermarket employees reportedly secured the box containing the spider, bananas and all, with plastic while waiting for the Fire Brigade to show up.
The firefighters, meanwhile, dispatched a reptile expert, who was presumably also a creepy crawly expert, to the scene.
(Feuerwehr Krefeld/Newsflash)
The spider was identified as a Heteropoda venatoria, commonly known as a ‘pantropical huntsman spider’, ‘giant crab spider’ or even ‘banana spider’, due to its occasional appearance in marketed bananas.
It is native to the world’s tropical regions, and it is now also present in some subtropical regions as an introduced species. It is not deadly, but its venom can result in a painful bite.
The spider found in the German supermarket was reportedly handed over to an animal rescue service.
No one was injured by the spider, according to reports, and it is currently unclear how it made its way to Germany undetected.
The spider typically feeds on insects, with a preference for various species of butterflies and moths.
Specimens are reportedly often found in people’s homes, where they often seek shelter from the cold.
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: William McGee, Agency: Newsflash
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