Daily Zoo Animal: #5, Costa Rican Zebra Tarantula

[urbpan]

Costa Rican Zebra Tarantula Aphonopelma seemani

This strikingly beautiful arachnid lives in burrows in the Central American rainforest (or perhaps humid grasslands--there was some confusion about this in online sources). It's a quick hunter, known among tarantula hobbyists as "skittish" and possessing "a liberal dose of Houdini genes." Males have a bluish cast to the hairs on their legs, and are reputed to be very aggressive, sometimes biting their owners. Scientific information on this species was hard to come by although I did find a journal abstract which promised to explain that this animal's venom "induces necrosis of skeletal muscle in mice."

This individual (a female, I believe) lives in the Bird's World exhibit.

On this day in 365 Urban Species: Banana slug, one of my all-time most popular posts (60 comments and counting).

Comments

[shaharazad.livejournal.com]

Aww! So cute!

[hai-kah-uhk.livejournal.com]

Pretty!

I do love spiders. I don't know... something about them... I just really like them.

I'd never keep an exotic as a pet, though. I have no sympathy for the owners who get bitten. Well, maybe a little, but still - even as wild animals go, spiders are not bright, so you should expect some wild-animal behavior.

[bdot.livejournal.com]

i like the 'daily zoo animal' idea!

[wirrrn.livejournal.com]

Very beautiful. Looks like a female. From the literature I've read, the bite isn't too bad in humans...

[fairy.livejournal.com]

We have one of those :)



That's Tabitha. Skittish is true and she did pull a Houdini on us (escaped for almost a week)...they're pretty quick as well. But I wouldn't say she's aggressive at all. Aggressive are the Old World ones who rear up if you pass the tank, lol. The New World T's are usually more "tame" and are more ill-disposed to bite . They use biting as a last resort as their usual main source of defense are the urticating hairs they'll toss at you (which can cause serious irritation and is bad news if they get in your eyes). And, if you did get bitten, it is said to be not so bad (not that I'd want to try it out, lol). Also, it's hard to tell the sex without visibly seeing the underside of their pedipalps (looking for hooks which are so small they are sometimes overlooked) or having it's molt sexed (you can tell by looking for slits by their lungs)

They're fascinating critters. We rescued ours and nursed her from near-death (she was in a horrible environment)...and she was missing a leg...which to our surprise grew back during her next molt. Truly amazing and very misunderstood creatures. I've grown to love them after caring for ours (that's from a former and long-time arachnophobe). Thanks so much for sharing this :)

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Beautiful!

[bellelvsbeast.livejournal.com]

God (s)he is gorgeous! :) I soooooo want me one!!! :) hehehehehee ;)