Black-bellied tarantula

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Black-bellied tarantula
Black-bellied tarantula (Hogna radiata), female

Black-bellied tarantula ( Hogna radiata ), female

Systematics
Class : Arachnids (arachnida)
Order : Spiders (Araneae)
Subordination : Real spiders (Araneomorphae)
Family : Wolf spiders (Lycosidae)
Genre : Hogna
Type : Black-bellied tarantula
Scientific name
Hogna radiata
( Latreille , 1817)

The black-bellied tarantula ( Hogna radiata ) is a spider from the family of wolf spiders (Lycosidae). As with the Apulian tarantula ( Lycosa tarentula ) there are rumors about the alleged dangerousness of this species.

features

male

The body length of the female is 12.5 to 25 millimeters, that of the male 9 to 18 millimeters, which makes the black-bellied tarantula one of the large wolf spiders in Europe. The species is drawn with comparatively little contrast and both sexes are similar in their coloring.

The prosoma (the fore part of the body) of the female has a brown basic color, which is a little lighter frontal and in the center has a red-brown to orange colored stripe that extends to the rear edge of the prosoma. As in the male, the female's prosoma shows two dark brown longitudinal bands with several light radial stripes. The eyes of both sexes are outlined in black. The labium (the "lower lip") and the legs are dark brown to black and distal (away from the center of the body) yellowish in color. The underside of the female's sternum (breast) and coxes (hips) are dark brown to black, which has led to the common German name of the black-bellied tarantula. The opisthosoma (the abdomen) of the female is dorsally brownish yellow to light brown, ventrally dark brown to black and on the flanks yellow to yellowish brown. It has a dark brown and light yellow to yellow bordered heart spot and several small spots behind it. The legs of individuals of this sex are light brown. The tibia of the third and fourth pair of legs each have a dark stripe that appears a little more indistinct in the third pair.

The front and abdomen of the male are largely similar to those of the female. The basic color of the male's prosoma, however, is kept uniformly brown. The possible yellow tones of the dorsal side of the opisthosoma can also be more pronounced and lighter in the male. The ventral side of the prosoma is whitish to yellow here. Unlike the female, the sternum, coxen, labium and endite are completely yellow. The legs of the male are light yellow and here only the tibia of the fourth pair of legs have a dark stripe.

Occurrence

Distribution map of the black-bellied tarantula (Spanish)

The black-bellied tarantula is a Mediterranean species. Its northern limit of distribution is in South Tyrol . Similar to the not closely related Apulian tarantula and South Russian tarantula , the black-bellied tarantula also inhabits areas with little vegetation, here predominantly those with stony or sandy soil.

Way of life

Females with young animals

The black-bellied tarantula is a day and nocturnal ambulance hunter, which hunts prey of suitable size. As a rule, however, the species does not dig living tubes and likes to hide under suitable objects such as stones during the day. The foraging for food takes place mainly in the dark.

Reproduction

The black-bellied tarantula can be found all year round. Mating takes place in autumn. Only during the breeding season does the female create a comparatively short living tube in which the egg cocoon is produced and guarded. Hatching takes place in December. As is usual with wolf spiders, the young climb on the mother's back and can be carried on it for four to five months.

Black-bellied tarantula and human

As about the Apulian tarantula, rumors of toxicity and bite accidents also exist about the rather harmless black-bellied tarantula. The species is said to attack people sleeping in tents at night and inflict bite wounds that are difficult to heal. The bite of the black-bellied tarantula does not cause any bite marks, as they sometimes occur after bites from other spider species. There may be reddening and slight swelling of the bite site.

Systematics

The black-bellied tarantula was first described in 1817 by Pierre André Latreille in the genus Lycosa . Over time it was often assigned to other genera, including Arctosa , Trochosa , Alopecosa, and Tarentula . Because of the color variations in its large Mediterranean area of ​​distribution, there were often new descriptions that were later synonymous . Thanks to the work of Konrad Thaler , Jan Buchar and Barbara Knoflach , the name Hogna radiata became established for the entire distribution area since the beginning of the 21st century . However, the species needs a revision because the relationships between the many populations described under this name have not been clarified. It is still unclear whether the differences in the populations in terms of size, color and pattern are still within the range of variation or whether they are already separate subspecies or species.

Hogna radiata is the type species of the genus Hogna Simon, 1885. The widespread, very species-rich genus is not monophyletic according to the genetic data. A taxonomic revision is necessary, but has not yet taken place.

gallery

  • Frontal view of a female with remains of prey

  • Top view of a female

  • Lateral view of a female

  • Rear view of a female

  • Detail of a female

  • Female on hand

  • Top view of a male

  • Lateral view of a male who is missing several legs.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f W. Nentwig, T. Blick, D. Gloor, A. Hänggi & C. Kropf: Hogna radiata (Latreille, 1817) , araneae, Spinnen Europa. Version 07.2019. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Heiko Bellmann: The cosmos spider leader. Over 400 species in Europe. Kosmos Naturführer, Kosmos (Franckh-Kosmos), 2nd edition, 2016, p. 182, ISBN 978-3-440-14895-2 .
  3. ↑ Geoffrey K. Isbister & Volker Framenau: Australian Wolf Spider Bites (Lycosidae): Clinical Effects and Influence of Species on Bite Circumstances. Journal of toxicology, Clinical toxicology, 42, 2, pp. 153-224, January 2004.
  4. ↑ The black-bellied tarantula in the World Spider Catalog ( Link )
  5. ^ Konrad Thaler, Jan Buchar, Barbara Knoflach: Notes on Wolf Spiders from Greece (Araneae, Lycosidae). In: Linz biological contributions. Volume 32, Issue 2, Linz 2000, pp. 1071-1091 ( PDF on ZOBODAT ).
  6. ↑ Gen. Hogna Simon, 1885 . World Spider Catalog (2019). World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern, http://wsc.nmbe.ch , accessed on July 19, 2019. doi: 10.24436 / 2
  7. ↑ Enric Planas, Carmen Fernández-Montraveta, Carles Ribera (2013): Molecular systematics of the wolf spider genus Lycosa (Araneae: Lycosidae) in the Western Mediterranean Basin. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 67: 414-428. doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2013.02.006
  8. ↑ Luis N. Piacentini, Martín J. Ramírez (2019): Hunting the wolf: A molecular phylogeny of the wolf spiders (Araneae, Lycosidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 136: 227-240. doi: 10.1016 / j.ympev.2019.04.004

Web links

Commons : Black-bellied tarantula  album with pictures, videos and audio files