Tarantula Pictures With Names
Matilda Equiluz
TarantulaTarantulas are spiders belonging to the family Theraphosidae. They are characterized by having tarsi (feet) with two claws and claw tufts, called scopulae. When people who knew about the tarantulas emigrated to the Americas and discovered fearsomely large and hairy spiders in the New World, they bestowed the name "tarantula" on them. Those spiders belong to the Suborder Mygalomorphae, the Family Theraphosidae (Greek for thera "wild animal, beast" + phos "light") and the Family Dipluridae. They can be quite large. Tarantulas can be kept as house pets. Common species are Chilean rose hair tarantula and Mexican red-knee tarantula. A terrarium with an inch or two of damp vermiculite or a mixture of soil and sphagnum moss (but not with cedar shavings as they are toxic to many spiders) on bottom provides an ideal habitat. (Burrowing tarantulas will require a much deeper layer.) Tarantulas can be fed a variety of living animals (insects, small mice, small fish in the water bowl, and reptiles are on their menu). Read more..
Acanthognathus francki Acanthogonatus pissii Acanthoscurria antillensis Acanthoscurria atrox Acanthoscurria brocklehursti Acanthoscurria chacoana Acanthoscurria ferina Acanthoscurria geniculata Acanthoscurria insubtilis Acanthoscurria juruenicola Acanthoscurria musculosa Acanthoscurria natalensis Acanthoscurria sternalis Acanthoscurria suina Aphonopelma albiceps? Aphonopelma bicoloratum Aphonopelma caniceps Aphonopelma chalcodes Aphonopelma clarki Aphonopelma crinirufum Aphonopelma crinitum Aphonopelma hentzi Aphonopelma moderatum Aphonopelma pallidum Aphonopelma seemanni Aphonopelma seemanni - Guatemala Aphonopelma seemanni Costa Rica Aphonopelma smithi Aphonopelma spec Aphonopelma stoicum Avicularia aurantiaca Avicularia avicularia Avicularia azuraklaasi Avicularia bicegoi Avicularia braunshaseni Avicularia geroldi Avicularia huriana Avicularia metallica Avicularia minatrix Avicularia peruana Avicularia purpurea Avicularia sp. - Cuzka Avicularia spec Amazonas Purple Avicularia spec Brazil 1 Avicularia spec. Peru? Avicularia velutina Avicularia versicolor Bonnetina rudloffi Brachypelma albopilosum Brachypelma angustum Brachypelma annitha Brachypelma auratum Brachypelma baumgarteni Brachypelma boehmei Brachypelma emilia Brachypelma epicureanum Brachypelma klaasi Brachypelma ruhnaui Brachypelma sabulosum Brachypelma schroederi Brachypelma smithi Brachypelma vagans Ceratogyrus bechuanicus Ceratogyrus darlingi Ceratogyrus marshalli Ceratogyrus sanderi Chilobrachys andersoni Chilobrachys bicolor Chilobrachys dyscolus Chilobrachys fimbriatus Chilobrachys guangxienensis Chilobrachys huahini Chilobrachys spec. Penang Chilobrachys? spec India Chilocosmia arndsti Chromatopelma cyanopubescens Citharacanthus longipes niger Citharischius crawshayi Coremiocnemis spec -Malaysia Coremiocnemis spec BLUE Creasicrus lamanai Cyclosternum schmardae Cyclosternum spec Ecuador Cyriocosmus "leetzi" Cyriocosmus chicoi Cyriocosmus elegans Cyriocosmus perezmilesi Cyriopagopus paganus Cyriopagopus spec blue 1 Singapur Cyriopagopus spec blue 2 Malaysia Davus fasciatus El Coco Ephebopus cyanognatus Ephebopus murinus Ephebopus rufescens Euathlus spec Chile Euathlus spec Chile Euathlus truculentus Euathlus vulpinus Eucratoscelus pachypus Eupalaestrus campestratus Eupalaestrus weinjenberghi Grammostola actaeon Grammostola alticeps Grammostola aureostriata Grammostola grossa Grammostola iheringi Grammostola mendozae Grammostola pulchra Grammostola rosea Grammostola rosea - red Grammostola rosea - Orange Grammostola spec Concepcion Grammostola spec Formosa Grammostola spec Uruguay Grammostola spec. Grammostola vachoni Grammostola? spec. Argentina Haplopelma albostriatum Haplopelma Bach Ma Haplopelma lividum Haplopelma lividum - "tmav" Haplopelma longipes Haplopelma minax Haplopelma robustum Haplopelma schmidti Haplopelma schmidti - dark form Haplopelma spec - Malaysia Haplopelma spec Cambodia Haplopelma spec Thajsko Heteroscodra maculata Heterothele villosella Holothele incei Holothele sp. "Norte de Santander" Holothele spec Venezuela Homoeomma spec blue Peru Hysterocrates gigas Hysterocrates hercules Hysterocrates laticeps - Camerun Iridopelma spec. Brasil Lampropelma spec nigerrimum Lasiodora difficilis Lasiodora klugii Lasiodora parahybana Lasiodorides polycuspulatus Lasiodorides striatus Megaphobema mesomelas Megaphobema peterklaasi Megaphobema robusta Megaphobema velvetosoma Metriopelma ledezmae Metriopelma spec Venezuela Monocentropus balfouri Nhandu carapoensis Nhandu chromatus Nhandu coloratovillosus Nhandu vulpinus Ornithoctonus aureotibialis Ornithoctonus spec "Malthai" Orphnaecus spec Philippines - Negros Pachypelma oculatum Pamphobeteus antinous Pamphobeteus fortis Pamphobeteus insignis Pamphobeteus melanocephalus ? Pamphobeteus nigricolor Pamphobeteus ornatus Pamphobeteus platyomma Pamphobeteus sp. J. Ecuador Pamphobeteus spec Colombia Pamphobeteus ultramarinus Paraphysa parvula Paraphysa pucherimakllasi Paraphysa scrofa Paraphysa spec Chile-1 Phlogiellus spec Philippines - Negros Phormictopus antillensis Phormictopus cancerides ? Phormictopus cancerides cancerides Phormictopus platus Plesiopelma longisternale Poecilotheria fasciata Poecilotheria formosa Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica Poecilotheria metallica Poecilotheria miranda Poecilotheria ornata Poecilotheria pederseni Poecilotheria regalis Poecilotheria rufilata Poecilotheria striata Poecilotheria subfusca Psalmopoeus cambridgei Psalmopoeus irminia Psalmopoeus pulcher Psalmopoeus reduncus Pseudhapalopus spinulopalpus Pterinochilus chordatus Pterinochilus lugardi Pterinochilus murinus Pterinochilus murinus " usambara " Selenobrachys philippinus Selenocosmia dichromata Selenocosmia lanipes Selenocosmia peerboomi Selenocosmia? spec Jawa Selenopelma kovariki Sericopelma melanotarsum Sericopelma spec "Guapiles" - Costa Rica Sericopelma spec "Los Brazos" - Costa Rica Sericopelma spec "Sabanilla" - Costa Rica Tarantula "Tai Po Kau" - China Tarantula spec India-1 Tarantula z Cam.Highlands-Tanah Rata Sphaerobothria hoffmanni Stichoplastoris spec. Costa Rica Stromatopelma calceatum Tapinauchenius elenae Tapinauchenius gigas Tapinauchenius latipes Tapinauchenius plumipes Theraphosa apophysis Theraphosa blondii Theraphosidae Costa Rica-2 Thrixopelma pruriens Xenesthis immanis Xenesthis intermedius Xenesthis spec " bl " Xenesthis spec BLUE
Tarantulas move slowly on their eight hairy legs, but they are accomplished nocturnal predators. Insects are their main prey, but they also target bigger game, including frogs, toads, and mice. Tarantulas are burrowers and typically live in the ground.
There are hundreds of tarantula species found in most of the world's tropical, subtropical, and desert regions. They vary in color and behavior according to their specific environments. A tarantula doesn't use a web to trap its prey, though it may spin a trip wire to signal an alert when something approaches its burrow. These spiders grab with their legs, inject paralyzing venom, and then bite their prey with their fangs. They also secrete digestive enzymes to liquefy their victims' bodies so that they can suck them up through their strawlike mouth openings. Yum!
Tarantulas have few natural enemies, except for the parasitic pepsis wasp, which can paralyze a tarantula with its sting and lay its eggs on the spider's body. When the wasp eggs hatch, the larvae chow down on the still living tarantula. Tarantulas shed their external skeletons in a process called molting. During the process, they also replace internal organs, such as stomach lining, and can even regrow lost legs.
Compare the largest and the smallest tarantula species in the United States: adult females of Aphonopelma anax (L) from Texas and Aphonopelma paloma (R) from Arizona.
Credit: Dr. Brent Hendrixson (A. anax) and Dr. Chris A. Hamilton (A. paloma)
LiveScience is one of the biggest and most trusted popular science websites operating today, reporting on the latest discoveries, groundbreaking research and fascinating breakthroughs that impact you and the wider world.
Scientific American is part of Springer Nature, which owns or has commercial relations with thousands of scientific publications (many of them can be found at www.springernature.com/us). Scientific American maintains a strict policy of editorial independence in reporting developments in science to our readers.
This fabulous looking spider is Fluffy, a female CHACO GOLDEN KNEE TARANTULA which in the wild would be found in parts of Paraguay and Argentina (including the northern Argentinian province of Chaco, hence its common name).
As always her moulted exoskeleton (exuvia) was perfectly preserved and I was able to set it into a great position, looking just like the real thing in fact, so that I can share it with people I meet in schools etc. and use it as an educational resource like all the others I have here. It truly is a remarkable thing and never ceases to amaze me, no matter how many times I see this process happen!
In the two pictures below the carapace (or head area) is in place in the first picture and flipped open in the second, clearly showing the holes through which the new exoskeleton is pulled free during the moulting process!
I do not allow other people to handle Fluffy or any of my other tarantulas, partly due to their venom but mainly due to their extreme fragility. If a tarantula is dropped from even a small height the chances of serious injury or death are very high due to their delicate abdomen, which can easily rupture or even burst when it comes into contact with any surface following a fall. Fluffy and my other tarantula friends are far too important to me for this risk to be taken!
64591212e2