The world's five most epic spiders - with video

From the largest, to the smartest, to the biggest web, to the deadliest, these five epic spiders show the power and grace of the arachnid world.

Longest leg span: Giant huntsman spider

First discovered in 1997, this species of giant cave spiders prompted one WWF official to tell National Geographic that "Some of these species really have no business being recently discovered."

It's leg span can grow up to 30 centimetres.

Earlier this year a woman reported finding one in her luggage in Britain.

"It’s not an impossible thing to happen considering the places we visited – but it was still a bit of a surprise!" Nora Serrat of the Rainforest told the UK's Daily Star.

Oh, and it was pregnant with 400 babies.

The heavy weight: Goliath bird eater

While the Goliath bird eater doesn't have the longest leg span (just over 27 centimetres) it is the heaviest, weighing about the same as a small puppy according to the Guinness book of world records.

While it probably could eat a bird, it doesn't normally get feathery noms, as it lives on the rainforest floor. Most of its diet is made up of earthworms, frogs, snakes and other ground-bound critters.

While it has a very painful bite, its venom isn't normally fatal to humans. It also has the ability to release fine hairs that cause skin irritation to those threatening it.

Which is to say it uses itching powder as its main source of defence. Adorable!

The smartest: Jumping spider

These 'eight legged cats' are known for their ability to outwit their prey, other spiders.

Their versatility has been compared to that of a lion. While they rely on their instincts for their more common prey, they can also learn by trial and error, finding newer, better angles of attack for greater success.

Normally a hunt ends in five minutes, but they also have the gift of patience - being able to hunt the same spider for ten hours.

Not only that, but these spiders learn how to play their opponent's webs for maximum efficacy. They can play a different tune depending on whether they want their prey to calm down, or come out and see what they 'caught'.

Females even make their own webs, further adding to their tactical arsenal.

The biggest web: Golden orb spider

South Africa's golden orb spider takes, well, gold for the largest web. Its webs are so strong, that it can catch small birds and bats in it.

This spider strings its webs together in unpolluted areas so as to form huge 'homes'.

The largest species of golden orb spider was first observed in the Plant Protection Research Institute in Pretoria in the year 2000, with the species being confirmed in 2009 when another two were found in the Tembe Elephant Park in South Africa.

The most venomous: Banana spider

Also known as the wandering spider, Phoneutria fera and nigriventer are considered the most venemous spiders in the world.

Their venom is a calcium and glutamate blocker, which at deadly concentrations makes you lose control of your muscles, leading to death by asphyxiation.

To add insult to injury, it also causes priapism in humans - meaning men bitten by this spider don't even get to go with dignity.

The hard-on this spider's bite causes can last for hours, resulting in impotence in male survivors, but also prompting scientists to study the venom as a possible treatment for erectile dysfunction.

This is not, however, why they are known as banana spiders. They got that name because when they aren't wandering the forest floor, they like to rest under termite mounds, fallen logs, and in banana plants.

Which means every now and then, in countries that import bananas, they appear on supermarket shelves.