Identify a Tarantula Spider

Tarantulas (Mygalomorphs) are the largest species of spiders in the world. Although many people consider tarantulas to be hairy and scary, it may surprise you to know that some people love them so much that they keep them as pets, and some people even eat them for dinner. This article explains how to identify the common (Theraphosidae) tarantula found in many parts of the world; it is the species that people most often keep as a pet.

Steps

  1. Know what a tarantula spider is. Here are some key characteristics.
    • Physical features: Large and hairy
    • Venomous: Yes. But most are not medically significant, meaning at worst you can probably expect mild symptoms such as a bee sting. However in exceptional rare cases a stronger reaction may occur
    • Lives in: Habitats range from arid scrub to rain-forests and jungles: South America, Central America, Southern states of North America, but also much of Africa Southeast Asia, Australasia and also southern parts of Europe
    • Eats: A tarantula will pounce on any prey that it can subdue. It kills by injecting its venom through its fangs and into its prey. Examine the areas of invertebrates like grasshoppers and beetles, but also lizards and rodents. Tarantulas may find these all very tasty, but if you spot their likely prey, you are not likely to see a tarantula in pursuit.

Identifying a Tarantula Spider

Tarantulas are mainly brown and black, but several species are far more colorful. The following characteristics are common to most species of tarantulas (or spiders in general):

  1. Look for a very large, hairy body and hairy legs. However, some adult tarantulas can be less than {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}!
    • The body length and height can be up to 3” (76 mm).
    • The leg span can be as much as 3 to 5” (76 to 127 mm).
  2. Check for a red-brown to black color; most tarantulas don’t have obvious markings. However color is extremely variable, and many other distantly related spiders are the same colour as many tarantulas
  3. Observe the form. A tarantula like all spiders has a frontal segment (opisthosoma) connected through a narrow waist to the abdomen which is oval-shaped.
  4. Look for a single small group of typically eight eyes on the forehead, but all tightly clustered onto a single mound, not like shown here. This would be a huntsman. Another often confused are Wandering spiders, where two of the eight eights are lower down and closer to the mouth parts than the remaining eyes
  5. Look at the features of the mouth area; there are two backward-pointing fangs just below the eyes and 2 pedipalps (leg-like appendages) near the mouth. The direction the fangs bite can be very diagnostic - if biting 'backwards' (paraxial) then this reduces the possible identity to just several broad groups (spider families) which includes tarantulas.
  6. Notice the fangs; tarantula’s fangs (and in other close families) move up and down (paraxial), whilst all other spider’s fangs move horizontally (axial) to pinch.

Recognizing Tarantula Spider Habitats

Tarantulas don’t spin webs; most live in burrows underground. They use their fangs to dig the burrows. However, you can also sometimes spot tarantulas in other places.:

  1. Look for tarantulas in trees as well as under tree roots.
  2. Examine rock cliffs for makeshift tarantula burrows.

Treating a Bite

Most tarantulas are not poisonous, and despite the size of this spider, its bite is no worse than getting a bee sting.

  1. If a tarantula bites you, wash the area where you were bitten and apply an antiseptic ointment.



Tips

  • A tarantula's fangs move up and down; all other spiders' fangs move horizontally.
  • Female tarantulas typically live for up to 20 years and the males live for up to 3 years. They are preyed on by weasels, hawks, skunks, snakes, spider wasp and humans.
  • Tarantulas, despite their hairiness, are quite adept at climbing on smooth surfaces, such as windows.
  • Some species of tarantulas make a buzzing or whirring sound when they rub their appendages together.

Warnings

  • The Goliath bird eater tarantula from South America is the largest, if not hairiest, of the species (about the size of a dinner plate), but it is not deadly. The deadliest tarantula is not even hairy! It is from the genus Atrax and is commonly found in Australia, and its bite has killed humans.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  • Herbert and Lorna Levi, Spiders and Their Kin, (New York, NY; St. Martin’s Press 2002)
  • Lorus and Margery Milne, Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects & Spiders, (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1980)
  • Al David, Tarantulas: A Complete Introduction, (Neptune City, NJ; T. F. H. Publications, Inc. 1987)

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