Description and photos of tarantulas spiders

Spiders tarantulas, tarantulas (lat. Theraphosidae) are among the the largest representatives of arachnids. In the range of legs, their size reaches 27 cm. Exotic species live in tropical countries, weave a huge web, hunt large insects, rodents, amphibians, birds. In Russia, tarantulas are kept as a pet.

Appearance, structure

Conventionally, the body of the spider is divided into the abdomen, cephalothorax. The inside is protected by a durable chitinous cover. On the front of the chest - head are located spider eyes: 4 pairs providing the tarantula with a wide visual range. Spider sees shadows, silhouettes, movement. Orientation in space is helped by the organs of smell, touch.

Spider paw 8, attached to the cephalothorax, a pair of chelicerae. The legs are massive, long. The largest tarantula in the world - 28 cm, fell into the Guinness Book of Records. On average, the size of the spider along with its paws is 25 cm. The color of the tarantula is bright, exotic. The legs are furry, the body is covered with bristles. The average weight is 85 g. Brazilian tarantulas weigh about 150 g. The largest Goliath - 170 g. Photo of the tarantula spider is located below.

Interesting!

The body is covered with poisonous hairs. A spider weaves them into a web during the construction of a nest, a cocoon for larvae. Shakes off for self-defense. Some species of tarantulas defend themselves in the original way - they throw excrement towards the enemy, thereby diverting attention.

Photos and descriptions of the brightest species

Exotic lovers buy colorful spiders for big money. In terrariums with proper care, the pet lives up to 25 years. What the animal looks like, you can see the photos below.

Chilean pink tarantula (Grammostola rosea)

In vivo lives in the USA. Most common in Chile, hence the name. For sales in pet stores - one of the most popular, expensive. The size of an adult animal is 16 cm. Shaggy legs, the body is covered with hairs. The color is brown, sometimes pink, the body is covered with light hairs. The pink spider has a non-aggressive temperament, does not attack people, bites only for self-defense.

On a note!

The female has a lifespan of 15-20 years, but it can also be longer. How many live in vivo is not known for certain.

Blue Spider Tarantula (Cyriopagopus sp. Blue)

Exotic species found in Malaysia. Blue, blue tarantula of large sizes. Together with the leg span, the size is 25 cm. The whole body and legs are covered with long dense hairs. The coloring is the same everywhere with various tints in blue, blue, purple.

The predator is poisonous, with an aggressive disposition, it requires special care when kept as a pet. The female reaches puberty after 3 years. Blue, blue, violet tarantulas have been living in nature for over 20 years. Throughout life, they molt several times, slightly change color.The female lays eggs up to 150 pieces at a time, large sizes in a self-formed cocoon.

Tiger tarantula (Psalmopoeus irminia)

The species was discovered in 1994 in Venezuela. The maximum body size is 6 cm, together with a leg span of 14 cm. Life expectancy is 15 years. Feels good in artificially created conditions. It is recommended to start as a pet a confident beginner or an experienced collector, as a tarantula is aggressive, poisonous, nimble.

The female reaches puberty in 2 years, lays up to 200 large eggs in a cocoon. In the natural environment, it is able to make another masonry without preliminary fertilization. Males are much smaller in size, they become sexually mature at 1 year old.

On a note!

Externally - one of the most beautiful species. The body with legs is covered with brilliant black hairs. On the abdomen there is a characteristic red or light brown pattern resembling a tiger coloring.

Mexican Red-Tailed Tarantula (Brachypelma Smithi)

It lives in the desert, arid places of Mexico. They live in burrows underground, cracks in the rock. Body size with legs 12 cm. Poisonous, moderately aggressive. Life expectancy is about 15 years. The coloring of the exotic animal is unique, attractive. The main tone is black, the hairs are light gray, on one segment of the limb, the cephalothorax have bright red spots, a rectangular pattern. The female molts throughout her life, in males this process stops after reaching puberty.

Brachypelma albopilosum spider (Brachypelma albopilosum)

Calm, slow, poisonous, but not dangerous to humans. Bites and dumps toxic hairs for self-defense. Lives in the tropics, mates in the rainy season. An immature female behaves aggressively; she can even kill a “boyfriend”. The color scheme is black, brown, beige. The body size with paws is 15 cm. It grows slowly, the female lives up to 20 years. Lays eggs in a cocoon, up to 500 pieces at a time.

Mexican Tarantula Spider (Brachypelma emilia)

One of the brightest representatives of a large family. The first to be exported from Mexico to Europe as a pet. The size of the animal is 16 cm with spread limbs. Has a calm, non-aggressive disposition. In natural conditions, it is active at night, during the day it hides in secluded places. The female lives 20 years.

On a note!

Emilia reproduces rarely, abnormally. After fertilization, 8 months may pass. Lays eggs in a self-formed cocoon or a suitable shelter for this. It is possible for beginners to keep a pet, but professionals must deal with reproduction.

Habitats of tarantulas in nature

Distributed throughout the globe. Most species live in tropical countries - America, Mexico, Africa, Australia. Some varieties are found in Europe - Spain, Italy, Portugal.

Under natural conditions, tarantulas live on trees, shrubs, as well as in soil and rocks. It often happens that nymphs initially live underground in burrows, having matured, move to trees. Almost all tarantulas are slow, make sudden movements in case of urgent need. Well fed females may not leave the shelter for several months.

Interesting!

How much a female can live depends on the living conditions. Some species live up to 30 years. Periodically fade, increase in size, slightly change color. Males die immediately after mating or throughout the year. Weakened "suitors" can be eaten by the female after mating.

What does a tarantula spider eat?

The lifestyle of different species is slightly different. Some representatives of the clan do not form trapping nets, guard the victim from shelters, others weave a huge web in diameter up to 2 m.The canvas comes out so dense that it holds birds, small rodents, lizards, frogs, snakes. The main diet is insects, bugs, small spiders.

The tarantula infects the victim with poison, paralyzes, injects saliva, which dilutes the insides in a few minutes. The spider absorbs the contents, leaving only chitin cover from the prey. The toxic substance acts on the nervous system, causes spasm, suffocation.

Interesting!

From the name you might think that spiders eat birds and eat meat. In reality, this is not entirely true. It is difficult for tarantulas to digest solid food, so insects are still preferred.

Breeding

Males reach puberty at the age of 1-2 years, females at 2-5 years. Male individuals weave a web before the mating season, apply seminal fluid to it. During the mating season, the spider collects sperm in a special bag - zimbium, crawling to the female. Her genitals hold the hooks, fills with seminal fluid.

After fertilization, the female becomes aggressive, if the male does not have time to escape, runs the risk of being eaten. After 1-8 months, the female begins to form a cocoon from the web, lays there from 50 to 2000 eggs. Embryos develop from a few weeks to months - 20-106 days. All this time, the female protects the cubs, periodically flips the cocoon. However, with a shortage of food can eat it all.

Spiders are born weak, inactive. They don’t eat for some time, therefore they coexist quite peacefully. After the first molt, they increase in size and acquire a characteristic color. The tarantula grows slowly. The female sheds almost her entire life, even after turning into a sexually mature individual.

Interesting!

Before shedding old skin, the tarantula ceases to eat, weaves a rug from the cobwebs, flips onto its back, pulls off its cover. Shedding of a spider in the growing stage occurs every month. After puberty in males, this process stops, the female sheds every year. Together with the old cover, the animal drops parasites, fungi, bacteria from itself, renews the poisonous cover of the villi.

Danger to humans

All tarantula spiders are poisonous. If we talk about a safe animal, this means a poison of low toxicity. There are no officially registered deaths from a bite. However, there is evidence that cats died from a pet. Often a bite occurs dry - without injecting poison. Then only a small hematoma remains at the site of the attack.

An allergic reaction to a toxic substance depends on the state of the immune system, age. Potentially dangerous spider bites for children, people prone to allergic reactions, the elderly. Possible consequences are local skin allergies, difficulty breathing, muscle spasm, vomiting, abdominal pain, weakness, dizziness.

In vivo, poisonous villi dump spiders when threatening their own lives, weave nests into a spider web when forming a cocoon with eggs. In the terrarium, the tarantula drops the pile due to stress. Inhaling them leads to the development of allergies - rhinitis, cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, lacrimation, etc.

At home tarantulas carried out in terrariums, fed by insects. It is impossible to train or accustom spiders to something.