Smaller Colombian giant tarantula

Smaller Colombian giant tarantula
	Lesser Colombian giant tarantula ( Xenesthis immanis ), female
Systematics
Order :	Spiders (Araneae)
Subordination :	Tarantulas (Mygalomorphae)
Family :	Tarantulas (Theraphosidae)
Subfamily :	Theraphosinae
Genre :	Xenesthis
Type :	Smaller Colombian giant tarantula
Scientific name
	Xenesthis immanis
	( Ausserer , 1875)

The smaller Colombian giant tarantula ( Xenesthis immanis ) is a spider from the family of tarantulas (Theraphosidae), which is sometimes due to its appearance a certain well-known and partly also gained popularity.

The English name for the Central American species is Colombian lesserblack tarantula , the translation of which corresponds roughly to the German trivial name.

features

Top view of a groomed female with the drawing elements of the species.

The smaller Colombian giant tarantula reaches a body length of 70 to 100 and a leg span of 190 to 250 millimeters and is therefore one of the larger tarantulas, whereby the male is usually smaller and less powerful than the female. The strikingly colored species has a black base color. The carapace has a reddish shimmering pattern. The hairs of the opisthosoma are light brown in color. The coloring of the male is much more pronounced and much more contrasting than that of the female; this is particularly noticeable in the more pronounced color pattern of the shiny carapace of the male animal. The smaller Colombian giant tarantula has stinging hairs and is therefore capable of bombing.

Similar species

Female of the Peruvian blue-footed giant tarantula ( Pamphobeteus antinous )

Similar species of the smaller Colombian giant tarantula can be found in addition to their own genus in the genus Pamphobeteus , as the species of both genera have similar color patterns. However, a significant difference is the Skopula the fourth pair of legs that in the species of the genus Xenesthis Colombian including the smaller giant tarantula the entire Tarsen cover the legs, whereas in Pamphobeteus sp. is only the case on the underside of the tarsi.

Occurrence

Rainforest in the Colombian mountain range Farallones de Cali , one of the habitats of the smaller Colombian giant tarantula.

The distribution area of the smaller Colombian giant tarantula extends in Central America and northern South America from Panama to Venezuela . There the species inhabits tropical rainforests. In the area of the Colombian city of Bogotá , the habitat of the smaller Colombian giant tarantula overlaps with that of the brown Colombian tree-dwelling giant tarantula ( Pamphobeteus fortis ) and the Pamphobeteus ferox, which belong to the same genus . Because of the mountainous and therefore not easy to explore region there, not much is known about the local population of the three species.

Threat and protection

Since the populations of the Lesser Colombian Giant Tarantula are not recorded by the IUCN , there is no information about possible threats to the species.

Way of life

The smaller Colombian giant tarantula is one of the ground-dwelling tarantulas and digs up living tubes that are lined with webs . These are preferably placed on embankments, but also on roadsides. From the evening onwards, the nocturnal tarantula lurks for prey at the tube exit; during the day it usually remains hidden in the tube. When it encounters potential predators (predators), the species first tries to flee. When cornered, she defends herself either with a threatening gesture or, if necessary, with a poison bite or stinging hair. The smaller Colombian giant tarantula does not hibernate.

Reproduction

Two to three months after a successful mating, the mated female withdraws into its living tube and after another month produces an egg cocoon. If the female moults between mating and cocoon making, the eggs remain unfertilized. After about five weeks, 50 to 100 young animals hatch from a cocoon with fertilized eggs and grow relatively quickly. The female of the smaller Colombian giant tarantula has a lifespan of 12 to 15 years, the male one of three to four years.

Terrariums

Due to its color and size, the smaller Colombian giant tarantula is one of the more popular tarantula species in terraristics. However, the owner should be aware of the comparatively high irritability and ability to bomb the spider. In addition, the necessary minimum dimensions for a terrarium are relatively high due to the size of the species. Since the mating of the species in captivity does not succeed very often, see also the chapter on reproduction , many of the specimens offered in trade are quite expensive wild-caught.

Systematics

The smaller Colombian giant tarantula was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1875 as a species of the tarantula genus Lasiodora with the name L. immanis . When Eugène Simon described the genus Xenesthis in 1891 , he also classified this species, where it was first given the name Xenesthis colombiana . In 1901 Reginald Innes Pocock introduced the name Xenesthis immanis , which is still used today . The male type specimen came from the Bogotá region ( Colombia ), the female from that of Caracas ( Venezuela ). The smaller Colombian giant tarantula is the type species of its genus. The misnomer Xenesthis immansis is often used for the species.

Interrelation with frogs

In addition to its appearance, the smaller Colombian giant tarantula gained a certain fame through an alleged mutualistic relationship with the frog species Chiasmocleis ventrimaculata . It was observed that the tarantula small Engmaulfrosch not only spurned as prey, but can even find shelter in its burrow, although they attack other small frogs and certainly can digest. It was believed that in return in this regard, the frog exterminated ants that could endanger the spider's brood. In 2002, however, the American arachnologist Jolene Csakany refuted the previously accepted claim that the tarantula involved in this mutual relationship was the smaller Colombian giant tarantula. This does not occur in Peru , where Chiasmocleis ventrimaculata lives. Instead of this, it should be a hitherto undescribed species of the tarantula genus Pamphobeteus , which enters into this mutualistic relationship.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Xenesthis immanis (Ausserer, 1875) from Theraphosidae, accessed on March 25, 2020.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Hans W. Kothe: Vogelspinnen. 1st edition, Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-4400-9367-0 , p. 39
↑ ^a ^b ^c Volker von Wirth: Vogelspinnen. 1st edition, Gräfe and Unzer, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-8338-2151-6 , p. 17
↑ Xenesthis immanis (Ausserer, 1875) at Tarantupedia, accessed on March 25, 2020
↑ ^a ^b Xenesthis immanis (Ausserer, 1875) in the WSC World Spider Catalog , accessed on March 25, 2020.
↑ Reginald B. Cocroft & Keith Hambler: Observations on a Commensal Relationship of the Microhylid Frog chiasmocleis ventrimaculata and the Burrowing Spider Theraphosid Xenesthis immanis in Southeastern Peru. Biotropica, 21, 1, pp. 2-8, March 1989

literature

Hans W. Kothe: tarantulas. 1st edition, Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-4400-9367-0 .
Volker von Wirth: tarantulas. 1st edition, Gräfe and Unzer, Munich 2011, ISBN 978-3-8338-2151-6
Reginald B. Cocroft & Keith Hambler: Observations on a Commensal Relationship of the Microhylid Frog Chiasmocleis ventrimaculata and the Burrowing Theraphosid Spider Xenesthis immanis in Southeastern Peru. Biotropica, 21, 1, pp. 2-8, March 1989