ACROMANTULA

Acromantula are decidedly unpleasant because they are huge venomous spiders. They are covered in thick black hair and have a leg span of up to fifteen feet, as well as giant pincers and 8 very large eyes. Acromantula are native to uncharted rainforests of Southeast Asia.

They are carnivores (they like to eat meat. Their webs are large and dome-shaped in order to catch the large prey they prefer. The female may lay up to one hundred soft, wide, beach ball-sized eggs at a time, which hatch in six to eight weeks.

Acromantula are believed to be wizard-bred, possibly to guard dwellings or treasure, and are therefore possessed of the power of human speech and human intelligence. They are no friend to humans, however, so wise witches and wizards do well to stay away from them.

The Basilisk is the mortal enemy of the Acromantula, as it is of all spiders. (This fact is based on the Ancient Greek belief that a person can keep spiders out of his home by hanging the body of a Basilisk in his house.)