It's not so much a field of dreams as a field of nightmares: A 10 kilometre floodplain infested with 25,000 tarantulas.

Arachnologist Dr Robert Raven thinks the discovery of this Northern Territory tarantula mega cluster is a good thing for the remote community of Maningrida, 500 kilometres east of Darwin.

Top End tarantula: One of an estimated 25,000 diving arachnids, which are yet to be given a scientific name.

He says the tarantulas' venom - powerful enough to kill a tiny animal and certainly strong enough to induce nausea and vomiting in humans - could be exploited for medical research: "Pharmaceutical applications could apply across a broad spectrum."