More than 41,000 spider species are known with about 400–500 added each year, but for some well-known
groups, such as the giant golden orbweavers, Nephila, the last valid described species dates from the 19th century. Nephila
are renowned for being the largest web-spinning spiders, making the largest orb webs, and are model organisms for the
study of extreme sexual size dimorphism (SSD) and sexual biology. Here, we report on the discovery of a new, giant Nephila
species from Africa and Madagascar, and review size evolution and SSD in Nephilidae.