A new species of Heteropoda (Araneae, Sparassidae, Heteropodinae) from Laos, the largest huntsman spider?

Heteropoda maxima n. sp. (Araneae, Sparassidae, Heteropodinae) is described from a collection from Laos deposited in the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris. The new species can be distinguished from all other Heteropoda species by its impressive size and the genital characters of male and female: male cymbium is elongated and at least three times as long as its tegulum; females possess a characteristical shape of their epigyneal field (including two anterior directed bands) and typical course of their internal ducts. Heteropoda maxima n. sp. could be the largest sparassid with over 46 millimeters body length and 250 to 300 millimeters legspan. Elongated legs and palps, pale colour, and special hairs at male metatarsus of second legs let suggest that this species is cave-dwelling, although no reduction of the eyes appear.