Came to this thread looking for a Lucas the Spider link, was not disappointed.
Fun fact: The animator’s five year old son RL nephew (actually named Lucas) is Lucas’ voice.
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WOW! That is the most awesome spider. An eight legged Yeti.
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“It’s adorifying!”
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How does that mutation help it survive? That’s like anti-camoflague.
How does it stay so white? Oh, god, this isn’t a Tide commercial, is it?
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Band name?
Or that guy that makes those films… (you know … Reservoir Carcasses, etc)?
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Albinism is recurrent in many species (including humans) and usually does not confer any survival benefits. Quite the contrary, in fact.
However, if a breeding population of some species gets trapped in a lightless cave, albinism seems to be a popular way to go. 
EDIT: Oh, and being easy to see is a good survival strategy if you are exceedingly dangerous, or look like something exceedingly dangerous.
So I’m going to guess that those hairs are poisonous or at least intensely irritant. Oh, and of course it’ll have a venomous bite, because Australia.
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I was wanting this to be real so bad, I love showing my youngest daughter weird critters. But while looking for more info it seems that Snopes has declared it’s false: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/arachnofauxbia/
ETA but this one is real… https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/11/111108-new-spider-albino-australia-trapdoor-burrows-animals/
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Oh, you stay nutty Australia!
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On the upside, that means you might be able to buy one for your daughter!
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Nah. It doesn’t stay in Tide; it stays out Tide.
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This is true.
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Youuuuuuu.
I was looking at the picture, thinking it was really unlikely looking (the hairs seemed too fine for a tarantula), and that was when I wasn’t wearing my glasses - but it was too good to pass up. Makes sense that it’s a plush toy, essentially.
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The plushiest of toys. They need them in this closet: Stressed-out students can now break down in the Cry Closet at the University of Utah
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“Here, cuddle with this!”
Bill Bryson’s disquisitions on Australian spiders throughout this book are hilarious.
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The adult version looks kind of cute too.
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i’m not positive, but i’m pretty sure “scallop carrot” is referring to the leaf the insect is climbing on rather than the insect itself. we have a flat leaf carrot variety here that has similarly scalloped leaves.
Likely someone asked for identification on reddit and some wisearse identified the plant rather than the insect. 
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Oh yeah the plush synthoil legumerous tachikoma…saw one o’ those coming out of the black void of knowing nothing and tomorrow being the garden center errand. Remin’ me of those 20 plants…longevity spinach? nah…thanks for the spider.
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