Davus Fasciatus
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''Davus fasciatus'', commonly known as the Costa Rican tiger rump, is a
species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of a new-world
tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,100 species have been identified, with 166 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...
native to
Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
. This is a terrestrial species with a maximum legspan of , which makes it a rather small tarantula species, yet it is one of the largest of its genus.


As pets

There is another species in the hobby often mis-sold under this name. Those as pets may be kept in terrariums. They require a 10-gallon to 15 gallon enclosure as adults and juveniles can be kept in much smaller containers like critter keepers or deli cups. Substrate should be 4 to 6 inches of a mixture of dryish soil/peat/etc. They should be kept around room temperature or slightly higher. Humidity should be low, although helpful to have a water source available or mist on occasion.


Feeding

Generally, in captivity, the species often sold as ''D. fasciatus'' or the
synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
''Cyclostermum fasciatum'' feed upon a variety of pesticide-free insects such as locusts, crickets and cockroaches. Spiderlings can be fed small 'pinhead' crickets, or scavenge the bodies of pre-killed crickets.


Reproduction

Females possess
spermathecae The spermatheca (pronounced : spermathecae ), also called ''receptaculum seminis'' (: ''receptacula seminis''), is an organ of the female reproductive tract in insects, e.g. ants, bees, some molluscs, Oligochaeta worms and certain other inver ...
s and males possess tibial hooks on the front pair of legs. Gestation period is about 6 to 8 months. The female produces an
egg sac Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...
which contains between 200 - 800 eggs about a month after mating.


References

* František Kovařík, ''Chov sklípkanů'' (''Keeping tarantulas''),
Jihlava Jihlava (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava (river), Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. Historically, Jihla ...
2001 * http://care-sheet.com/index/Cyclosternum_fasciatum


Gallery

File:Cyclosternum_fasciatum,_adult_female_05.JPG File:Cyclosternum fasciatum, adult female 06.JPG Theraphosidae Spiders of Central America Spiders described in 1892 {{Theraphosidae-stub