Pic of the Day: The golden orb weaver spider

Despite being completely non-threatening to humans, the golden orb weaver spider has acid-yellow spots and pincer-like legs, and can grow as broad as a human fist. In other words, it looks otherworldly enough to strike fear into the hearts of even the most seasoned nature buff.

Golden orb spiders could also lead through breakthroughs in medicine due to their strong, yet thin silk, according to research conducted at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia.

“The Australian golden orb’s silk could be used as a baseline for creating synthetic products possibly up to 100 times tougher than those used today,” researcher Genevieve Kerr said.

Read more about Costa Rica’s wildlife in our Into the Wild series.