Faced-sized tarantula with 8-inch leg span found in Sri Lanka (Photos)

A face-sized tarantula approximately the size of a human's face with a leg span that can reach up to 8-inches was discovered recently in Sri Lanka. The Epoch Times.com reported on Thursday, April 4 that the giant hairy spider has a distinctive pink band around its body, and that the discovery has many curiously searching the # facesizedtarantula, eager to learn more about the giant spider.

The face-sized tarantula was reportedly discovered by a group associated with the Sri Lanka’s Biodiversity Education and Research. The tarantulas was originally spotted by villagers in Mankulam who killed a male specimen.

“They are quite rare,” researcher Ranil Nanayakkara told Wired. “They prefer well-established old trees, but due to deforestation the number have dwindled and due to lack of suitable habitat they enter old buildings.”

The face-sized tarantulas are described as venomous but it is not lethal to humans. It can kill small birds, rodents, and snakes.

Scientist reveal that they are aware of at least two spiders that are bigger than the face-sized tarantula, the “Goliath bird-eater” and the appropriately cave-dwelling “giant huntsman,” the world’s largest spider, with an average leg span of a full 12 inches.

These are the eight-legged creatures that scary movies are made of, many now wondering just how big some of the spiders that hide out in their neighborhood actually are.

What do you think about the face-sized tarantula? Like this page if you are seriously creeped out by spiders of any size.