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- Goliath Tarantula Spider
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- Goliath spider food
The goliath spider belongs to the Theraphosa blondi family. Until 2001 it was called the largest arachnid in the world. An instance with a 28-foot span was discovered in Venezuela in 1965. In the early 2000s, a new species was discovered in the tropical forests of Laos - Heteropoda maxima. The spider legs are 2 cm longer than the goliath, but inferior in body size and weight.
Description of the appearance of Goliath
The body size of the female is 1 cm, males - up to 70 mm. The range of limbs reaches 28 cm. The legs are powerful, strong, covered with hairs. Color light brown or dark. Paws are reddish brown.
Body tarantula all in long, thick hairs. The abdomen is convex, round, protected by a dense carapace. Attached to the cephalothorax 8 feet, in the front part long pedipalps that look like another pair of limbs, chelicerales with fangs up to 2 cm. There are 8 eyes on the head, of which 2 are the main ones, looking forward, the rest are auxiliary. A photo of the goliath spider is presented below.
Interesting!
Despite the great number of eyes, the tarantula’s vision is weak. He sees at a distance of 25 cm. Images are presented to him in the form of shadows, silhouettes. However, goliath quickly responds to movement, the presence of prey determines by vibration, smell. Auxiliary eyes help to quickly respond to the approach of the victim, the enemy.
Lifestyle, reproduction
The goliath tarantula spider leads a solitary lifestyle, gathers in pairs only in the mating season. Males determine the presence of a female by the smell that she actively distributes. Fights often take place between applicants, but the “lady” still chooses a partner.
Interesting!
A hungry female tarantula eats a gentleman before he takes care of her, so he often brings her a treat. A similar fate awaits him after mating, if he does not have time to hide in time.
After fertilization, the female stops eating, has eggs for about 8 weeks. Then forms spider cocoon, lays up to 500 eggs, leaves in a secluded place. Protects masonry from enemies until cubs appear. After about 2 weeks, spiders appear, sprawling in different directions.
The habitat of the largest tarantula is limited to 4 mills of South America - Venezuela, Brazil, Suriname, Guyana. Settles near ponds or in a forest with a humid climate. Builds holes in the soil, the entrance protects the cobweb. The depth of the mazes reaches 1m.
Nutrition
The goliath tarantula spider owes its name to the German entomologist - Mary Merian. Traveling around the countries of South America, she saw a picture of a huge spider eating a hummingbird. The information got instantly into the press, so the name was attached.
The main diet of the goliath spider:
- insects
- snakes
- a snake;
- beetles;
- small birds, chicks;
- a snake;
- frogs
- toads;
- rodents;
- small arachnids.
The predator does not build hunting nets, does not weave a web, prefers active hunting. It moves around the district, tracking down prey. At the right moment, he attacks instantly, inflicts a bite with long fangs, injects poison, his own saliva. The first substance paralyzes the victim, the second dilutes the insides. For a while, the goliath spider waits on the sidelines, when the convulsions of the victim stop, starts the meal.
It hunts in the dark, sits in a secluded place during the day.This behavior is associated with the presence of a large number of natural enemies - a family of feline, canine. Defending himself from the attacker, the goliath tarantula turns back to him, quickly sheds thin, spiky hairs with poison. While the predator comes to its senses, the spider crawls away.
Interesting!
An arthropod is able to repair a damaged limb. Initially, it dumps residues, then directs there a liquid, which eventually turns into a solid formation. The process is long, but in the end a new leg is formed. Throughout life, the female molts 5-7 times. In this way, she dumps parasites from herself, increases in size, and renews the poisonous coat of wool.
Danger to humans
The goliath tarantula does not differ in aggressive behavior, does not rush to attack at the sight of a person, but gives out his unfriendly mood by hissing. The bite is applied solely for the purpose of self-defense. By the power of painful sensations, it is compared with a wasp, a hornet. For life spider bite not dangerous, but causes some discomfort.
At the site of the bite, redness, swelling, pain appears. In young children, people with weak immunity, and allergy sufferers, general well-being is worsened - dizziness, weakness, headache, nausea, vomiting, fever. The condition normalizes after a few days, antihistamines are taken to accelerate the therapeutic effect.
