Have You Heard of Giant Spiders Called J'BA Fofi?

[lostbook]

I learned about giant spiders called J'BA Fofi while browsing thru Youtube for interesting facts about the Congo in Africa.  One of these interesting facts is about the Jba Fofi, giant Spiders which inhabit some areas in the forests of the Congo.  These spiders are said to be highly venemous with the first one being seen in 1850 and the last one seen in 2014 or 2015.  These giant spiders( giant Tarantulas) are just one of the many mysteries of the Congo; other mysteries include: a 50 ft long alligator, Dinosaur like creatures, many species, of monkey or ape including Great Apes, Billi Chimps, and other mysterious ape varieties.  For the sake of this thread, however, I'll stick to J'ba Fofi or the Giant Spiders which are said to have legs as long as 6ft and eat Monkeys and other small prey.

I can't find them on Wiki so I've uploaded a short Youtube video which apparently shows somne.
What does ATS think?

https://youtu.be/-aEmykU3R-M?si=LM4SM-UQ2MJI6dOT

J'ba Fofi - Mokele Mbembe

[Maxmars]

All I can say is "Oh my!"

The idea of an oversized spider like that affects me viscerally!

I would have thought something that big (6-ft legs) couldn't exist in our world (physiologically/biologically, I mean)... but crabs can get nearly this big... so why not spiders maybe?

(Obviously, I'm not a biologist!)

[lostbook]

All I can say is "Oh my!"

The idea of an oversized spider like that affects me viscerally!

I would have thought something that big (6-ft legs) couldn't exist in our world (physiologically/biologically, I mean)... but crabs can get nearly this big... so why not spiders maybe?

(Obviously, I'm not a biologist!)

I think these are prehistoric creatures which survived the ice age. There apparently are other creatures in the Congo which I can only classify as dinosaur like.

[guyfriday]

I hit a Banana Spider in Okinawa Jp that left a three foot leg on the vehicle. This would mean that the span of that spider was about 6 feet wide. 

I also have a friend in the French Foreign Legion that while doing some stuff along the Congo River came across half a hippo in the trees. The locals told him that they have entered a feeding ground of the "Hippo Eaters" and told me that the scouts placed their ears to the ground before moving forward. 

Weird stuff exists on the Earth that we haven't even found yet.

[Nerb]

What does ATS think?

Why not go and ask them?

Personally , as a Denier of Ignorance, I genuinely think the youtube clip is CGI and the website you linked to is a spoof.

Thanks for posting here though.

[Creaky]

Why not go and ask them?

Personally , as a Denier of Ignorance, I genuinely think the youtube clip is CGI and the website you linked to is a spoof.

Thanks for posting here though.

hard to argue, most YouTube channels and websites have a desire to create currency, as for the lame ytclip
but
cryptids, seems an overwhelming amount of witnesses and evidence to support something
Giant spiders, who knows

[Maxmars]

Well, here's some peer-reviewed video.... the spider could embrace a basketball, so it's not giant... but at least it seems legit...

[BeTheGoddess]

I want to know more about these hippo eaters, I lost a couple of vegan friends when I made a comment that a baby Pigmy Hippo looked tastey.

I want to align myself with these hippo eaters and join them on they quest to eat baby pigmy hippos burgers with exctra pickle.

[CCoburn]

I'd have to agree with Nerb here. With CGI these days and now with the introduction of AI, users are fabricating all kinds of crazy content to get those all-important views. It doesn't necessarily mean it's fake though just like being paranoid doesn't necessarily mean someone is watching you, but they could be(X-Files - paraphrased).

I was also under the impression that exoskeleton, biological mechanics, and weight were limiting factors in how large a spider can become. It is true though that king crabs also having an exoskeleton can have leg spans up to five feet, but I think the difference here is that things weigh less in the water - the force of buoyancy acting upon a body, so perhaps these huge crabs partially equate to a form of massive ocean spider because the environment allows for it.

When I was a kid living in the sticks I used to see these huge black and yellow orb weaving spiders - ominous looking things they are. The biggest I had seen up to that point. I would feed them large grasshoppers. At first from a book I had thought maybe they were Banana Spiders since some varieties look somewhat similar, but later found out that they are actually called Garden Spiders.

Aside from Tarantulas the Huntsmans of Australia get quite large and are very fast like Wolf Spiders. I often see Wolf Spiders in the house here and I mostly just leave them and usually never see the same one again, or sometimes I will scoop them up in a container and put them outside, but I never kill them.

I think most house spiders won't attack/bite humans unprovoked and are generally not any kind of threat. You do have to watch out for Widows and Recluses though which are fairly venomous.

Earwigs should be much more of a concern than most house spiders. They will bite you and start feeding off of minor cuts and abrasions if you're not paying attention, but you'll feel it eventually like a mild electric shock, and spiders will eat those, so...

Jumping Spiders are one of the coolest and most intelligent arachnids ever. I had one living on my bedroom screen all spring and summer one year. It must have been a good feeding spot for them.