The spider Debbie Ellwood discovered in her office last month.Photo:Courtesy of Debbie Ellwood
Courtesy of Debbie Ellwood
An Australian woman wasleft stunnedafter finding an enormous pregnant spider in her office.
Debbie Ellwood, who lives in Central Queensland and works for a small trade business, discovered the arachnid in a ring binder at her place of work on Sept. 18.
“I was on a handheld phone when I picked up a ring binder folder and the spider jumped out as I opened it and it ran down my forearm and onto my desk,” Ellwood tells PEOPLE.
“We don’t get too many spiders in this area, most of the large dangerous ones are in the cooler states,” she adds. “But it is possible for them to hitch rides on freight.”
According toNewsweek, Ellwood then took pictures of the spider and sent them to her family to see if anyone could identify it.
When no one could, Tina Bates, Ellwood’s niece, decided to share the photos on a Facebook group calledAustralian Spider Identification.
Debbie Ellwood removed the spider using a colander.Courtesy of Debbie Ellwood
One group member, who is a top contributor to the Facebook group, described the spider as a “very gravid jungle huntsman." (The word “gravid"refers to being pregnant, or carrying eggs.)
Meanwhile, one group expert replied, “Heteropoda species, female, Sparassidae family, as Jacinta indicated.”
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Despite their chilling appearance, huntsman spiders are not considered to be dangerous, according to theAustralian Museum.
“As with most spiders, they do possess venom, and a bite may cause some ill effects. However, they are quite reluctant to bite, and will usually try to run away rather than be aggressive,” the museum said.
Still, “it wasn’t easy to be brave,” she toldNewsweek.
source: people.com
