If you’re an arachnophobe then you might want to look away now, as a newly-discovered spider, which can swim, eat fish, and devour toads has been found in Australia.
The bone-chilling spider, named the Dolomedes briangreenei (after physicist, Brian Greene) is only as big as the palm of your hand but can kill insects and creatures up to three times its size, according to The Independent.
‘Brian’, as the spider has been nicknamed, lives predominantly on fresh water streams close to Brisbane and finds its prey by feeling their vibrations in the water.
The spider then gets hold of it’s prey and dives underwater with them before heading to land to eat.
However, you can relax – as the fascinating new arachnid is not dangerous for humans.
Robert Raven, Principal Scientist of Arachnology at the Queensland Museum, told Mashable Australia:
I’ve been bitten by this spider and it’s not particularly dangerous. It just stung for a little while.
The spider was unveiled at the ninth annual World Science Festive in Brisbane, Australia.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, the physicist whom the spider is named after, Brian Greene, said:
The goal [of the festival is] quite simple; to create a new experience of science … to have a place where young and old, novice and experienced can come in and experience science in a way that feels compelling and dramatic — not intimidating — and utterly inspiring.
Although the spiders are apparently not dangerous to humans, I still wouldn’t feel too comfortable with one of these bad boys scaling round my bath…
