Ogre-faced Spider

A spider with the largest eyes in the arachnid world and a unique hunting technique: it weaves a small web between its front legs and casts it like a fishing net over its prey.

Spiders of the genus Deinopis, known as ogre-faced spiders, are nocturnal arachnids with one of the most extraordinary hunting techniques in the animal kingdom. Their two posterior median eyes are disproportionately large, the largest among all spiders, providing exceptional night vision. Their hunting method is passive-aggressive: they weave a small elastic web between their four front legs and hang waiting over pathways. When prey passes below, they cast the net by stretching their legs, capturing the insect. They inhabit wet Panamanian forests, camouflaged during the day as dry twigs.

Habitat

Lowland wet forests in the Canal Watershed and Caribbean slope