Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula
Goliath Bird-Eating Tarantula
Image source: By Snakecollector - http://www.flickr.com/photos/8373783@N07/3200539228/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6414045
1. Spiders are not insects! They are actually arachnids-invertebrates (animals without backbones) that have eight legs and which inject venom.
2. Spiders have two major body parts; the cephalothorax (head and thorax) and the abdomen. Spiders have eight legs. Insects have three major body parts; head, thorax and abdomen. Insects have six legs and antennae which spiders lack.
3. Spiders are found on every continent except Antarctica. There are over 44,000 known kinds of spiders. Spiders are found in every kind of habitat and are often found in homes!
4. Many people fear spiders. In fact, a fear of spiders has its own name: Arachnophobia!
5. Most spiders, however, are totally harmless to humans and are actually beneficial because they eat insect pests. Even the largest tarantula in existence, the Goliath Bird-eating Tarantula is harmless to humans.
6. A tarantula bite is said to be about as painful as a bee sting. Some spiders, however, such as the Black Widow Spider, are dangerous to humans. Bites from these spiders usually require immediate medical attention.
7. The fastest spider, the male European house spider, can run about 330 times the length of its body in only 10 seconds. Fast humans run about 50 times their body length in the same time.
8. This Amazonian spider is the second largest spider in the world, second only to the giant huntsman spider. It has a leg span of 12 inches across, about the size of a small dinner plate and weigh up to 6 oz making it the largest spider by mass. Like all tarantulas, it is a very hairy spider and the hairs are actually hollow bristles that are produced as part of their exoskeleton.
9. Their eyesight is not good, despite having 8 eyes and they mainly rely on vibrations in the ground that they can sense from their burrows in the ground, dug by the spiders themselves, or abandoned by rodents.
10. They don’t have teeth to chew their food, but regurgitate digestive juices onto their victim, the juices break down the soft tissue making it possible for the spider to suck up the liquid and eat its meal.
11. Predators include spider wasps, some snakes, and other tarantulas. Smaller insects can take advantage of a freshly molted tarantula.
12. This large, stocky spider has a leg span of '10-12' with a hairy, coffee-colored body and a lifespan up to 25 years.
13. A burrowing species, their extreme size and bulk prevent them from being good climbers.
14. Live in deep burrows in the ground dug by the spiders themselves, or abandoned by rodents. The female spends most of her life in her silk-lined burrow.
15. They are nocturnal, solitary spiders and rarely travel more than a few feet from home, resting in their burrows during the day.
16. A giant of the spider world, the Goliath bird-eater is the heaviest spider in the world. They can weigh up to 170 g about the weight of a large apple.
16. A large tarantula can turn a mouse into a small pile of hair and bones in about thirty-six hours by breaking down the mouse tissue and sucking up the liquid remains.
17. Like many spiders, Goliath bird-eating spiders have forty-eight "knees". Each leg has six joints!
Image source: By Sheri (Bellatrix on Flickr) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/bellatrix6/106010853, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30593560
19. Goliaths have been around for millions of years-and they haven’t changed much in all that time. Their sheer size has always fascinated people.
20. One of their deadliest predators is an insect known as a spider wasp or tarantula hawk. When a female wasp spies a tarantula, she stings it. The sting paralyzes the spider but doesn’t kill it. The wasp digs a hole, places the paralyzed spider in it, and lays an egg on it. When the egg hatches, the wasp larva makes a tiny hole in the spider’s body and crawls inside. Then the larva feeds on the spider .
21. Goliath spiders can shoot a cloud of stiff hairs at their attacker. These hairs have tiny hooks that cause tremendous irritation.
21. Along with the complete exoskeleton, spiders shed their fangs and chelicerae, their throats and stomach lining, female genital organs, and the linings of the book lungs.
22. These spiders produce a neurotoxin which paralyzes their prey. Their venom is not very toxic to humans, but can cause swelling, severe pain and sweating.
23. Tarantulas have an exoskeleton, and therefore must molt to grow larger. Immediately after molting the spider is at greatest risk of predation, since it takes several days for their exoskeleton to fully harden.
24. The Goliath bird-eating spider was named by explorers from the Victorian era who first reported them to the western world, and witnessed one eating a hummingbird.
25. Like other spiders, the tarantula makes a silken web, but not for snaring prey. They use their web to make a home, a molting cradle, or to aid in handling food items.
26. Some people consider the Goliath bird-eating spider to be a tasty morsel when wrapped in a banana leaf and roasted over a fire.
27. Tarantulas use their hair as a defense mechanism, flicking urticating hairs from its body at any creature it perceives as a threat. These tiny, invisible hairs are extremely irritating to skin, and can cause real problems if they get into delicate mucous membranes around eyes or mouth.
28. They have an incredible ability to make noise when feeling threatened. They rub the bristles on their legs together to make a loud hissing noise that can be heard up to 15 ft away. This is called stridulation. They will also rear up on their hind legs in a threat position.
29. Males can be identified by the mating hooks on the first set of legs.
30. Nocturnal and solitary, goliath spiders dig or find abandoned burrows deep in the rainforest. They will rarely travel more than a few feet from their silk-lined burrows. With very weak eyesight, the spider relies on sensory hairs that pick up vibrations in the ground.
31. Goliath spiders are considered aggressive, and will stand up in a “fight” position and make a hissing sound by rubbing hairs on their legs together when they feel threatened. They can also release the barbed hairs on their abdomen, which can be irritating to sensitive tissues like the eyes and respiratory tract.
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