The Whistling Spider, also known as the bird eating spider and barking spider is considered a Tropical spider fairly widespread throughout Queensland and commonly found in Cairns, Tully, Brisbane and Northern and Central parts of Australia.

The barking or whistling sound is a warning when the spider is disturbed and is made by rubbing their palps with their fangs. Selenoiosmia Cresipes is its Latin name, and it is closely related to the American Tarantulas. This spider is truly a giant as its body reaches the length of 60 mm and a it has a leg span of 160 mm and is almost the size of a man's hand. The male is slightly smaller and slimmer than the female but is still large and powerful. The body of the male grows up to 40 mm The colour of the spider is various shades of rusty brown.

The bite from one of these spiders is potentially dangerous for they have fangs that are about as long and sharp as those of a 50 cm taipan! These are great weapons. When provoked, they rear up and strike downwards. The penetration of such large fangs without venom (which is known to be very toxic) is dangerous in itself. These are powerful spiders.

Large whistling spiders prey on mice and lizards, insects, frogs and small birds, killing their prey by pouncing on it and injecting venom. All food is captured in the area near their burrows. As they have no teeth, they rely on digestive juices to dissolve their food. Humans are much too big to be prey, so we are generally ignored. If the spider feels threatened (and even the smallest human is thousands of times bigger than these spiders) it will go into the defense posture, rearing up on its hind legs. While funnel-web spiders will extend their fangs and start a venom flow for instant defense, the brush-footed spiders normally leave their fangs sheathed while they display, and attempt to ward off the aggressor with their long legs.