Tarantulas!

My family and I went to the new Butterfly Exhibit at Thanksgiving Point and loved it! But what caught me by surprise was how many different species of tarantulas were also on display - 11 to be exact. Here are the photos of those tarantulas I took, and a little fact about each one.

By the way, I think tarantulas are fascinating, even though they do creep me out like most people. When I was writing Acea and the Animal Kingdom, I watched hours of tarantula videos when researching for my king tarantula in the book. If you haven't read my first novel yet, you can check it out on Amazon here.

Goliath Bird Eating Tarantula:

The LARGEST arachnid on the planet. I learned that this guy is just an infant and still has alot of growing left to do. They don't always eat birds, but they will. Think about that.

Gooty Sapphire Tarantula:

Not the best picture - this guy was trying hard to hide in a corner. But these tarantulas are called "sapphire" for a reason - their legs end up becoming a very brilliant blue-sapphire color. Not only are they known as one of the most beautiful species, but they are extremely poisonous. Just one bite will leave a human in intense pain for about a week.

Arizona Blond Tarantula:

See it? Hiding behind the Delicate Arch... This guy was sharing a tank with some scorpions. It's a burrowing spider, as you can tell from it hiding in this picture. Like most species, they are nocturnal predators.

Togo Starburst Tarantula

This one is hiding in its burrow - in the upper left. It looks like some kind of horror movie scene, right? This species is native to West Africa. It's also called the Ornamental Baboon Tarantula.  They have very thick hind legs, leading some to think they are apart of the baboon spider species, even though they are not.

Brazilian Whiteknee Tarantula

These are among the larger species, and get up to full size quickly. Females are larger than males, with leg-spans of  up to 8.5 inches. They are commonly kept as pets. As you can guess, they're native to Brazil.

Mexican Redknee Tarantula

Check this thing out! Females have a large lifespan - up to 30 years! The males have a lifespan of 5 years. They dwell in Mexico along primarily the coastal areas near the Pacific Ocean. Females spend most of their lives in their burrows.

Greenbottle Blue Tarantula

This was my favorite one to see - look at it perched on top of its kingdom! It's hard to tell from the lighting, but their body is a fierce blue, with a starkly-orange abdomen. It's among the most dramatically-covered tarantulas. Native to Venezuela. In captivity, it's common for their webs to cover the entire container.

Trinidad Chevron Tarantula

I put this video up because it was active! They're native to Trinidad (located in the Caribbean). It's venom is actually part of a a toxin that provides therapeutic help for patients suffering a stroke. Crazy, right?