Mexican Red-knee Tarantula
Brachypelma hamorii
Near ThreatenedFast Facts
About
The Mexican red-knee tarantula is one of the world's most recognisable spiders, its dark body set off by brilliant orange-red bands on the leg joints. A long-lived, placid giant, it is among the most popular tarantulas in captivity.
Native to the Pacific slopes of Mexico, it shelters in burrows it lines with silk, emerging to ambush passing prey.
Behaviour
When threatened, the tarantula can flick barbed 'urticating' hairs from its abdomen with its back legs, irritating the eyes and skin of an attacker. It is slow-moving and reluctant to bite, preferring to retreat or defend itself with these hairs.
Females are remarkably long-lived and grow larger and heavier than the shorter-lived males.
Did you know?
- Females can live for around three decades, far longer than the males
- It defends itself by flicking irritating barbed hairs from its abdomen
- Tarantulas must shed their entire exoskeleton to grow, even regrowing lost legs
- Over-collection for the pet trade has made it a protected species
Distribution
Scrub and dry forest along the Pacific coast of Mexico
