''Megaphobema robustum'', known as the Colombian giant
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 ...
or Colombian giant redleg, was first described by
Anton Ausserer
Anton Ausserer (5 July 184320 July 1889)Maurer, Ferdinand: ''Nachruf an Dr. Anton Ausserer.'' Programm des kk. acad. Gymnasiums in Grätz. Graz 1890 was an Austrian natural history, naturalist specialising in spiders.Bonnet, Pierre: Bibliographi ...
in 1875. Found in the
tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid zo ...
s of
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
and
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
near logs, it has a span of 6 to 8 inches and will eat crickets, other large insects, small lizards, and mice.
Description
Their
carapace
A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the unde ...
is a deep black color, with a pale orange color, the
opisthosoma
The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma ( cephalothorax). It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata (arachnids, horseshoe crabs and others). Although it is similar in most respects ...
is also a deep black color covered with orange hairs. Most of the legs, with the exception of the femur which is also black, are a bright orange and are covered in orange hairs.
Habitat
They are found the
tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforests are dense and warm rainforests with high rainfall typically found between 10° north and south of the Equator. They are a subset of the tropical forest biome that occurs roughly within the 28° latitudes (in the torrid zo ...
s of
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
and
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. The average yearly rainfall of this area is 2,500mm, with average temperatures usually above 23 °C. It is home to plants such as ''
Cavanillesia platanifolia
''Cavanillesia platanifolia'', known as pijio, bongo, pretino, petrino, cuipo, hameli or hamelí in Spanish or macondo, is a flowering plant species in the family Malvaceae. It grows in lowland rainforests in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colom ...
,'' and animals such as
Lance-tailed manakin
The lance-tailed manakin (''Chiroxiphia lanceolata'') is a small passerine bird which breeds in tropical Central and South America from Costa Rica to northern Venezuela. This manakin is a fairly common bird of dry and moist deciduous forests, b ...
, and the
glass frog
The glass frogs belong to the amphibian family Centrolenidae (order Anura), native to the Central American and Colombian rainforests. The general background coloration of most glass frogs is primarily lime green, the abdominal skin of some membe ...
s.
Behavior
This
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 ...
is shy in nature, though it is more willing to be defensive than other
New World
The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...
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 ...
s. But will usually flee instead of putting a defensive pose. Although their threat pose is also quite unique, as they own some barbs in their back legs, they will lunge with those legs or will spin in a circle to confuse their attacker. They are
terrestrial
Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial.
Terrestrial may also refer to:
* Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on o ...
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 ...
s, though they aren't all that active out of their hide.
References
External links
*
Spiders of South America
Spiders described in 1875
Taxa named by Anton Ausserer
Theraphosidae
{{Theraphosidae-stub