Venturing out into the world, you will discover that there are A LOT of spiders out there. To give  you an idea of the creepy crawlies you may encounter, take a look at the particularly bizarre spiders below.

Bird dung crab spider

via Ezry Abdul Rahman /Flickr

 

This spider has one of the most effective camouflages of all animals; its body is covered on blobs and warts that give it the appearance of a fresh piece of bird excrement; it often produces a small thread of white silk and sits on it so that it looks like the white stains caused by bird droppings falling onto leaves. And as if this was not amazing enough, it also smells like poop. This camouflage has a double function; it makes the spider a rather unappetizing prey for most animals (especially birds themselves), and it serves as a lure for the small, excrement-loving insects which are the spider’s favorite prey. These spiders are found in Asia, from Indonesia to Japan.

Scorpion-tailed spider

 

via Troy Bell/ Flickr

So named because of the female’s weird abdomen, ended in a “tail” similar to that of a scorpion. When threatened, the scorpion-tailed spider arches this tail as a scorpion would. Only the female has a tail; the male looks more like an ordinary spider and is much smaller. These creatures are, again, found in Australia and they seem to be completely harmless. They spin circular webs and are often found in colonies, although each female spider has its own web and doesn’t venture into those of other females.

Assassin spider

 

via Dustin Iskandar/ Flickr

Found in Madagascar and parts of Africa and Australia, these bizarre predators have long necks designed to support the weight of their enormous jaws, and they feed almost exclusively on other spiders, hence their name. Despite their fearsome appearance and name, they are completely harmless to humans. An interesting note is that these spiders are survivors from the age of dinosaurs! Perhaps that’s why they look so alien nowadays?
Spiny Orb Weaver

via Rushen/ Flickr

Rather than being a single species, horned spiders, also known as Spiny Orb Weavers, are a genus that includes as many as 70 known species, with many more yet to be discovered. They are found all around the world and are completely harmless despite their frightening appearance; the horns and spines are supossed to be a deterrent to birds. These spiders are also noted for adding small silk “flags” to the edges of their webs. These flags make the web more visible to small birds, which can then steer away before becoming entangled on the web. Horned spiders are found all around the world, often in gardens and near houses.
Myrmarachne plataleoides

This spider is an incredible example of Batesian mimicry, when one animal deters potential predators by “disguising” as an unpalatable or dangerous animal of another species. In this case, it is a jumping spider that looks like a Weaver Ant. The Weaver Ant is noted for its painful bite and also because they produce two different chemicals that increase the pain in the bite wound. They are very aggressive ants and the effects of their bite can last for several days. Many birds, reptiles and amphibians avoid these ants. On the other hand, the Myrmarachne spider is harmless and shy; however, it pretends to be just as tough by looking and walking almost exactly as a Weaver Ant.

As luck would have it, some of the mot bizarre spiders in the world are, in fact, completely harmless to humans. However, that doesn't make them any less desirable to have around.

After all, would you want something called the Bird Dung Spider hanging out on your clothes? And although it only eats other spiders, you probably don't want the massive jaws of the Assassin Spider anywhere near your person.

It turns out that spiders, even the most innocent spiders, can still be somewhat terrifying to those of us who have grown up catching them roughly in paper towels.

If you found this list interesting, you can see even more weird spider species at List Verse.

Featured Image via Dustin Iskandar/ Flickr