The Jumping Maneater, aptly named due to its ferocious appetite for flesh and the fact that it was based on the jumping
Spider, was an attempt by Umbrella Corporation to improve upon their early
Web Spinner B.O.W. (Bio-Organic Weapon). The main drawback with the
Web Spinner (despite its name) was that it preferred not to use any webbing. So experiments on various species begun to find an arachnid which could use its arsenal to greater advantage.
As done previously, the
t-Virus was combined with DNA of spiders in order to create a stronger, larger and more aggressive creature.
The South American Jumping
Spider was selected due to its habitability in exotic climates, as well as its jumping ability. They may have also been selected due to their unusual behaviours which scientists have found difficult to understand. As well as this, they also have a more advanced internal organ structure compared to the majority of other spiders such as a combined spiracle and lung breathing system. The resulting creature was something of a similar size and intelligence of the previous design, albeit with greater speed and that it chose to use its web spinning abilities aggressively.
It's not entirely clear if Umbrella found the Jumping Maneater to be a success or not, as it was only used during a brief period. There was a similarly named creature named the Man-Eating
Spider which was essentially a house
Spider created by Mold-infected housewife
Marguerite Baker, but the two species are not related.
