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Lets take a look at a few of the adaptations that these tarantulas have
made in order to succeed and thrive in their environments!
environments.
There are three main types of urticating hairs. The type the B.
vagans and most other spider possesses is a true seta hair (Battisti et al. 2010).
These hairs are designed to be removed easily since they have lost a
neurological connection and are only held in by a thin layer of cells called
Integument (Battisti et al. 2010). The B. vagans does not always have these
hairs however, the B. vagans only gets these hairs after it reaches maturity and
leaves the parents nest (Battisti et al. 2010).
These organisms also have fangs, called chelicerae, located under the
eyes. The chelicerae have the ability to release poisonous venom into prey to
kill it. Once the B. vagans attacks its prey with its quick, stealthy hunting
technique, the tarantula with dig the fangs into the prey and release the
venom into the organism. Although this venom will kill most of the prey, it is
essentially harmless to humans. This is another reason why these spiders are
ideal for domestic keepings.
Another advantageous feature that the Mexican Red Rump Tarantula
possesses are the pedipalps. These are located on the foremost part of the
spider, slightly ahead of the front legs. Pedipalps are chemical detectors,
allowing the B. vagans to smell and taste its food. These sensitive detectors
are also used to carry sperm to the female during mating. This adaptation has
allowed the B. vagans to survive the threats from potential mates, who try to
kill off their male sperm providers.