Tarantulas

Language English

Tabs group

Description

This family includes large spiders with bodies as big as a thumb and often even larger. Many species are quite hairy. Some are covered with special, highly urticating hairs that can be irritating on contact.

French name

Théraphosides (mygales)

English name

Tarantulas

Class

Arachnida

Order

Araneae

Family

Theraphosidae

Habitat/Diet

Habitat

Depending on where they live, these spiders are divided into two groups: terrestrial and arboreal. The former live in burrows, tree trunks or rotting stumps, under stones or in holes in brick walls, for instance. Tree-dwelling (arboreal) spiders live under leaves or tree bark, in roofs, or in holes in branches or hydro poles.

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Interesting facts

In the wild, tarantulas tend to be nocturnal and are rarely seen during the day. When they come out into the daylight, they rush back into their shelter at the slightest vibration.

To detect their prey, tarantulas use hairs (silk) that are sensitive to vibrations and air currents. Their weak eyes are of no use for hunting. In the wild, they feed mainly on insects, and sometimes small vertebrates.

Some species living in the United States have thousands of tiny urticating hairs on top of their abdomen. They use them as a means of defence. They rub the hairs with their legs and scatter a small cloud of hairs. These hairs are particularly irritating for humans if they get into one’s eyes or are swallowed. They also irritate the skin, particularly if it is sweaty.

Many people find these spiders fascinating, and adopt them as pets. They require specially arranged vivariums.

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Aphonopelma chalcodes

The females are generally a uniform tan colour. The males have black legs, a copper-coloured cephalothorax and a reddish abdomen.

In the males, the body is from 5 to 6 cm across. The females are larger, and may reach 5 to 7 cm in diameter, with a legspan of 10 cm.
Nhandu colorativillonis

These large tarantulas can measure over 22 cm across.

They have black bodies and legs with wide white stripes.
Poecilotheria regalis

The bodies of these tarantulas are about 7 cm long and up to 18 cm across. The cephalothorax is light coloured with two black bands in the middle, and the abdomen is dark grey with a yellowish-white band in the middle. The legs are banded grey and black.
Poecilotheria subfusca

These tarantulas have dull black and yellow bodies with a light-coloured band characteristic of the species down the centre of the abdomen. The brown and grey legs have yellow markings. Males are duller coloured than females. P.
Pterinochilus murinus

These tarantulas can reach 12 to 14 cm. Their bodies are from 6 to 7 cm long. They are recognizable by the sunburst pattern on the cephalothorax. The rear part of the cephalothorax is gold, and the rest is black and gold. The juveniles are grey.
Theraphosa blondi

These are the largest known tarantulas. They can weigh over 120 g and their legspan can exceed 25 cm, with bodies more than 10 cm long.