Colombian red-leg tarantula

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Colombian red-leg tarantula
Colombian red-leg tarantula (Megaphobema robustum), female

Colombian red-leg tarantula ( Megaphobema robustum ), female

Systematics
Order : Spiders (Araneae)
Subordination : Tarantulas (Mygalomorphae)
Family : Tarantulas (Theraphosidae)
Subfamily : Theraphosinae
Genre : Megaphobema
Type : Colombian red-leg tarantula
Scientific name
Megaphobema robustum
( Ausserer , 1875)

The Colombian red-leg tarantula ( Megaphobema robustum ) is a spider from the tarantula family (Theraphosidae). The species is distributed in Colombia according to its common name . Like the Colombian pink-rayed giant tarantula ( Pamphobeteus ornatus ), the Colombian red-legged tarantula is also known as the Colombian giant tarantula .

The English trivial names of the species are Colombian giant tarantula and Colombian giant redleg (tarantula) (translated as "Colombian giant tarantula " and "Colombian giant red-legged tarantula").

features

Closer view of a female

The Colombian red-leg tarantula usually reaches a body length of around 70 and a maximum of 80 millimeters and is therefore one of the larger tarantulas. The leg span is a maximum of 200 millimeters.

The basic color of the species is black-brown, especially in the female. The carapace (back shield of the prosoma or front part of the body) and the opisthosoma (abdomen) are generally dark in color, with the opisthosoma also having long orange hair. The orange color of the legs, which extends to the femora (thighs), which in turn have the dark basic color, is striking . In addition, the femora of the third pair of legs are thickened. The Colombian red-leg tarantula, like many New World tarantulas, has stinging hairs and can swear in by being bombed. The stinging hairs are thrown in the direction of an attacker. The distinctive coloring of the species also serves as a signal for predators to avoid the spider. The orange color of the legs led to the name red-legged tarantula.

Occurrence

Open landscapes like this one in the Los Nevados National Park in Colombia form the habitats of the Colombian red-legged tarantula.

The Colombian giant tarantula is found in Colombia, according to its common German name. There it inhabits both dry biotopes and tropical rainforests , where it can be found in open places such as fields and at the edges of fields. The species is also often found under tree trunks.

Threat and protection

No information is available about possible threats to the population of the Colombian red-legged tarantula, as it is not recorded by the IUCN .

Way of life

Female outside of his shelter

The Colombian red-leg tarantula is counted among the ground-dwelling tarantulas and, like most members of the family, digs living tubes with this way of life, which are lined with webs . The nocturnal species usually only emerges from its shelter at dusk to look for prey. It remains hidden during the day.

Defense behavior

The Colombian red-leg tarantula is known as a frightening species and tries to escape even in the event of minor disturbances or to defend itself by bombing (stripping off the stinging hairs and hurling them towards a predator). In addition, it has another defense strategy that is quite peculiar to tarantulas.

The Colombian red-leg tarantula does not show the threatening gesture typical of this family , in which the spider stands up in the event of an encounter with possible predators (predators) and raises the pedipalps (transformed extremities in the head area) and the first pair of legs. Instead, the fourth pair of legs is barbed and enables the spider to defend itself with effective kicks with these legs. To do this, she moves up and down and then jerks her legs toward an attacker.

If the threat persists, the spider turns in a circle to confuse the predator, which is reinforced not least by the color of its legs. This movement also serves to give the hind legs a higher pushing force, so that the effectiveness of the kicks is increased.

Reproduction and Life Expectancy

The reproductive behavior of the Colombian red-leg tarantula does not differ significantly from that of other tarantulas, and mating as such is mostly peaceful. Some time after mating, the female makes an egg cocoon from which several hundred young hatch after 51 days.

The young animals grow up in an average duration for tarantulas. Females of the Colombian red-leg tarantulas can have a lifespan of around 20 years, the males a shorter lifespan of around eight years. This means that the species is comparatively long-lived.

Terrariums

Female acquired for keeping pets, coming from a breeder

The Colombian red-leg tarantula is very popular as a pet in terraristics due to its visual appearance . The simulation of the climate, including the humidity of its natural habitat, is essential for the successful keeping of the species. Also, before purchasing one or more specimens, one should be aware of the species, their shy nature and their defense strategies. Raising the young is quite demanding, which is why the Colombian tarantula is sometimes rarely available in stores.

Systematics

The first descriptor and Austrian naturalist and arachnologist Anton Ausserer described the Colombian red-legged tarantula as Lasiodora robusta when it was first described in 1875 . The British arachnologist Reginald Innes Pocock called the species Megaphobema robusta in 1901 . The current name Megaphobema robustum was introduced in 1996 by the Uruguayan arachnologist Fernando Pérez-Miles and has since been used consistently as the scientific name of the Colombian red-legged tarantula, which is also a type of the genus Megaphobema .

gallery

  • Dorsal view of a female

  • Frontal view of a partially hidden female

  • Lateral view of a female

  • Rear view of a female

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Hans W. Kothe: Vogelspinnen. 1st edition. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, p. 36, ISBN 3-4400-9367-0 .
  2. ↑ a b Megaphobema robustum (Ausserer, 1875) at Terrarienkreis Kiel eV 1998, accessed on March 4, 2020.
  3. ↑ a b Megaphobema robustum (Ausserer, 1875) at Arachnophilia.de, accessed on March 4, 2020.
  4. ↑ a b c Megaphobema robustum (Ausserer, 1875) at AllPetsDirectory, accessed on March 4, 2020.
  5. ↑ Volker von Wirth: tarantulas. 1st edition. Gräfe and Unzer, Munich 2011, p. 17, ISBN 978-3-8338-2151-6 .
  6. ↑ Megaphobema robustum (Ausserer, 1875) from Exotic Pets, accessed on March 4, 2020.
  7. ↑ Megaphobema robustum (Ausserer, 1875) at Global Biodiversity Information Facility , accessed on March 4, 2020.
  8. ↑ a b Megaphobema robustum (Ausserer, 1875) from Fear Not Tarantulas, accessed on March 4, 2020.
  9. ↑ Megaphobema robustum (Ausserer, 1875) in Theraphosids (tarantulas) of the World. Keeping and breeding in captivity, accessed March 4, 2020.
  10. ↑ Megaphobema robustum (Ausserer, 1875) at Versicolor Bremen, accessed on March 4, 2020.
  11. ↑ Megaphobema robustum (Ausserer, 1875) from Mike's Basic Tarantula, accessed on March 4, 2020.
  12. ↑ Megaphobema robustum (Ausserer, 1875) in the WSC World Spider Catalog , accessed March 4, 2020.

literature

Web links

Commons : Colombian red-legged tarantula  - Collection of images, videos and audio files