ORDER

Araneae (arachnids)

FAMILY

Theraphosidae (Tarantulas)

HABITAT AND RANGE

This tarantula is found in desert areas in Mexico and also the U.S. southwest. It is a burrowing species that avoids dehydration by staying underground by day. Dew forms inside the entrance to the burrow at night, raising the humidity to as high as 70 to 80%. This is necessary because this tarantula will die easily of desiccation (dehydration).

IDENTIFICATION

Tarantulas are classified as Arachnida, a category that refers to spiders, scorpions, and mites. The tarantula infraorder is Mygalomorphae (big hairy spider). Tarantulas have large, hairy bodies and rear facing fangs.

DIET

The diet of primarily insects is sometimes supplemented with small rodents, lizards, small snakes or in the case of the Goliath Bird Eater, even small, usually baby, birds. At the zoo, crickets are the staple food of the tarantula.

REPRODUCTION AND LIFESPAN

The mating season, lasting from September to October, is followed by a nine-month gestation period after which 600- 700 eggs are laid and wrapped in a silky cocoon which the female, alone, guards aggressively. The mother tolerates the babies for a short period of time in which she might even feed them regurgitated food, but very briefly. Within a matter of weeks, or certainly by the time the female has her next molt, the babies are on their own. The mortality rate is very high and ants are a major menace. The life span of the female is thought to be 15- 25 years and possibly more than that. The male lives a much shorter time, not only because the female sometimes eats him, but more frequently because he does not molt correctly, or cannot escape his molt for some reason. Also, the male is usually the one seeking to mate, and so is more exposed to predictors.

NOTES

The hairs or bristles of the tarantula have an irritating effect on other creatures. Their bite is venomous to insects and very small vertebrates, but is no worse than a bee sting to humans. It is primitive spider, which survived the era of the dinosaur.