Heteropoda is a genus of spiders in the family Sparassidae, the huntsman spiders. They are mainly distributed in tropical Asia and Australia, while at least one species, H. venatoria, has a cosmopolitan distribution, and H. variegata occurs in the Mediterranean. These spiders catch and eat insects, but in a laboratory study one species readily ate fish and tadpoles when offered, and H. venatoria has been known to eat scorpions and bats.