Tarantula
Genus Aphonopelma
36.2083, -115.984
Field Notes
Description:
Body and legs are hairy
Tan to reddish brown to black in color
Body size is up to three inches long and two to three inches tall
Leg span of three to five inches
Male tarantulas are longer and slimmer than females
Male tarantulas have much smaller abdomens than females
Exoskeleton (outer shell) includes a fused head and thorax connected at a narrow waist to an oval-shaped abdomen
Eight marginally functional eyes in two groups on the forehead
Mouth and two backward-pointing fangs below the eyes
Two pedipalps (leg-like appendages) for food handling near the mouth
Abdomen contains several vital organs
Abdomen has silk-producing spinnerets at the tip
Four pairs of legs connect to the fused head and thorax
Habitat:
Typically, in the southwestern United States, tarantulas live in solitude in desert basins, mountain foothills and forested slopes. They occupy various kinds of nests, with many species taking up residence in burrows or crevices, which may be sequestered in the ground, along cliff faces, among rocks, under tree bark, or between tree roots.
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