Trivia question for Aug-09-2011

Olivia found these hairy guys interesting so she decided to feature them in our trivia.  These guys have poor eyesight but that doesn’t deter this nighttime predator-it instead relies on its sensitivity to noise and vibration.

They have a lethal reputation fueled by lurid movies, although its deep bite is rarely fatal to human victims.  An adult female has a body roughly 4 inches long, with a leg span of 6 inches, and a mass of approximately 15 grams. Both sexes are similar in appearance, with the male having a somewhat smaller body, but longer legs. Thus the male is of comparable size to the female, but has a significantly smaller mass.

So here are Olivia’s questions:  Tell us what kind of tarantula this is and where they can be found?  Also, larger tarantula have been given several nicknames, tell us what they are and why they were give these names?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations to Rodas from Guerrero Mexico for being the first with the correct answer. Thank you also for letting us know that most dogs who are bitten by these guys do survive. The furry spider we featured is the Mexican Red-Kneed Spider. The Brachypelma smithi (also called Mexican Red-kneed Tarantula), is a terrestrial tarantula native to the western faces of the Sierra Madre Occidental and Sierra Madre del Sur mountain ranges in Mexico. They are quite large, very docile and believed to be one of the most long-lived tarantulas.

Larger tarantulas are also known as baboon or monkey spiders because of the hairs that cover the body.  Here is more on these scary looking spiders: Mexican Red-Kneed Spider

Thanks for playing along 😉