Is this Australia's biggest huntsman? Terrifying moment a tradie finds a huge spider on a set of traffic lights

• A tradie has stumbled upon a gigantic huntsman spider in Alice Springs, NT
• Joel Hogan was working on a set of traffic lights when he spotted the spider
• The photograph was uploaded to Facebook and has over 7500 comments  
• Facebook users speculated what species the spider was due to its large sizeA photo of a gigantic huntsman spider resting on a set of traffic lights has sent thousands of hearts racing on social media.

  Tradesman Joel Hogan took the picture of the pregnant huntsman while working on a set of traffic lights in Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. 

  The bloated spider can be seen clinging to the wiring of the traffic lights, most likely holding her egg sac underneath her body to protect her young. 

  Thousands of Facebook users commented on the image when it was uploaded on Friday.

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  Tradie Joel Hogan stumbled upon the gigantic huntsman while he was working on a set of traffic lights in Alice Springs

  'Looks like everyone is crashing today. Screw the lights', one comment read. 

  'You could saddle that and ride it in the cup', another joked. 

  'If you tried to hit that spider with a newspaper, it would probably grab it and hit you back', another comment read. 

  'It's a bloody small dog', another user shared.  

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  The shocking photo was uploaded to Facebook on Friday and has received over 7500 comments from horrified social media users

  One Facebook user speculated the spider was a huntsman, not a Goliath bird eating tarantula like other comments had suggested. 

  Goliath bird eaters are a specie of spider that originates in South America, and have been known to eat birds who get themselves caught in the spiders web. 

  The user suggested the spider was a Golden Giant, one of Australia's largest species of huntsman, found in coastal forests in Northern Australia. 

  The spider has been identified as a 'Badge Huntsman' by Lizzy Lowe, an arachnologist at Macquarie University. 

  This species of huntsman, like many others, are notorious for entering cars and houses, but prefer to live under loose bark on trees, under rocks and inside logs.  

  Badge Huntsman have been known to bite, leaving the victim with severe swelling, sweating, nausea and can induce vomiting. 

  HOW DO HUNTSMAN SPIDERS REPRODUCE? 

  Courtship between male and female huntsman is more romantic than other spiders, with the female spider rarely attacking the male

  She will then produce a flat oval egg sac which is hidden, usually under bark or rock, or sometimes carried under the body while they move around

  The mother will then stand guard, not eating for three weeks, and will usually be aggressive if provoked during this period

  In some cases, the mother will then moisten and tear the egg sac open, helping her spiderlings to emerge, sometimes up to 200 

  The mother will stay with her young for several weeks while they undergo several moults before hardening to a darker brown and dispersing

  Source: The Australian Museum