Venezuelan spider tepui

"Dr. Atherton, you're in luck. We're hitting a brand new one today."

- Miguel Higueras

This tepui was located in the Amazon basin of Venezuela, accessible from the Orinoco River. Within the tepui was located a sinkhole where a number of species remained unchanged for millions of years. Native insect species included the 24-hour ant and the Photius manlii butterfly. However, these insects were dominated by a society of highly organized Venezuelan spiders, which lived at the top of the tepui's food chain.

History
"Millions of years and then we come along."

- Jerry Manley

The tepui was not visited by the natives, who were presumably aware of the arachnid threat within. It was eventually accessed by Dr. James Atherton, along with his guide Miguel Higueras and photographer Jerry Manley, via helicopter. After landing and journeying to the bottom of the sinkhole, the scientist fumigated an area inside. After collecting some of the fumigated specimens, Dr. Atherton discovered the previously unknown Photius manlii and the much larger, much heavier deadly spider species which inhabited the sinkhole. Thereafter Atherton and his scientific group left the tepui and returned to camp, accidentally taking a concealed spider specimen with them. Atherton would later theorize that these spiders, despite their tremendous size, were confined only by geography.

Appearances

 * Arachnophobia
 * novel
 * Official Movie Adaptation