arachnid

Information about the Western Desert Tarantula:

The Western Desert Tarantula -also called the Arizona Blonde Tarantula or Mexican blond tarantula - is of the genus Aphonopelma. It has a limited distribution in the deserts of Arizona and adjacent parts of Mexico but can be very common within this range. The name "blond tarantula" refers to the carapace, which is densely covered in pale hairs and contrasts strongly with the all-dark legs and abdomen. The spider can grow to be between 3 to 10 inch (7 to 25 cm) While it is a burrowing spider, it is often seen during the summer rainy season in southwestern deserts. The female is usually a uniform tan color, whereas the males have black legs, a copper-colored cephalothorax and a reddish abdomen. Their burrows can be as large as 1 to 2 inches (25 to 50 mm) in diameter, with some strands of silk across the opening. The tarantula is usually found in saguaro cactus dominated plant communities. Like other tarantulas, they are nocturnal predators that never venture far from their burrows unless it is to find a mate. In winter they plug their burrows with soil, rocks, and silk and survive in a relatively inactive state. During this time the animals live off stored fat reserves. Tarantulas have an interesting defensive capability in addition to venom. Some of the hairs on the top of the abdomen are specialized for defense. These urticating hairs, as they are called, are tipped with backward pointing barbs. If a tarantula is threatened in any way, it brushes these hairs into the face, paw or other body part of its attacker. Once these hairs are embedded, they are irritating and very difficult to remove because of the barbs.

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