Chilean rose tarantula on a book. The Chilean rose is often considered an ideal starter tarantula because it has an even temperament and is relatively slow unless frightened. (Photo: Sarefo, courtesy Wikipedia)
- Chilean rose tarantula on a book. The Chilean rose is often considered an ideal starter tarantula because it has an even temperament and is relatively slow unless frightened. (Photo: Sarefo, courtesy Wikipedia)
- The greenbottle blue tarantula is a much faster moving spider, and tends to be more skittish than the Chilean rose. It is a vibrantly coloured spider, however, and is also popular as a pet. (Photo released into public domain by Justin Overholt, courtesy Wikipedia)
- The Goliath birdeater is the largest tarantula. It rarely eats birds, but does eat a variety of vertebrates and invertebrates including small rodents. (Photo: Snakecollector, courtesy Wikipedia)
- Tarantulas belong to the family Theraphosidae, whose range is shown in this map (Photo: Sarefo, courtesy Wikipedia)
- A cold-blooded tarantula in the hand of a warm-blooded human. Although tarantulas have been known to bite people, their venom is not deadly to people. Most individuals will have a reaction similar to a wasp sting. (Photo: Arno / Coen, courtesy of Wikipedia)
- Tarantulas can "throw" irritating hairs from their bodies when threatened. This Mexican red-kneed tarantula shows a bald spot after throwing hairs from her abdomen. Pet owners are advised to wear goggles when handling tarantulas. (Public domain photo, courtesy of Wikipedia)
- We think of tarantulas as being fierce predators, but they are also preyed upon by other animals. One such predator is this tarantula hawk, a species of wasp. The female will hunt and paralyze a tarantula, and leave it near her nest. As her young hatch they feast on the still living spider. (Photo: Kynn, courtesy of Wikipedia)
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