Tarantula by auntietk
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Description
As far as I can tell, this is a male tarantula. I couldn't find a picture of one just like this, so I'm relying on descriptions of Arizona tarantulas. They say the female is larger, wider and tan, and the male is more elongated and black with an orange abdomen. Then they only show a picture of the female.
Thppppttt! Not as helpful as one might hope!
This little guy was only about two to three inches long. I don't know exactly how one measures a tarantula, and I didn't pick him up and put him on a ruler, so I'm just estimating. I've got a picture of him on a white line in the parking lot, and he's only about half the width of the line.
I've never seen a tarantula in the wild before, so I'm pretty excited to have seen this guy and to get a few pictures.
If you zoom in, you might be able to see how long the hairs on his legs are, but you'll have to look close. In order to show him off, I desaturated the background, and some of the edge detail tends to get lost in a layer mask. Rocks and spider were too similar in coloring to do much else. (It's not as sharp as I'd like, so if you zoom, just consider it a triumph of content over quality!)
You can read my identification source material HERE if you're interested.
Comments (25)
Faemike55
Fascinating capture Tara! a very handsome gentleman to be sure thanks for sharing
jayfar
A lovely specimen Tara.
durleybeachbum
He is gorgeous! I do love bottoms with long ginger hair... Probably why I sleep with Fritz. Males of spiders have two palps shaped like boxing gloves, which they use for sex. Poke and run....... Like some blokes I have known
RodS
That's still a pretty big spider! An excellent, sharp capture of this fellow, Tara! You didn't pick him up? Where's your sense of adventure? :-D
FredNunes
Wow.... never saw one.... excellent!
goodoleboy
Tarantulas are large hairy spiders that live in warm areas around the world, including South America, southern North America, southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, and Australia. The greatest concentration of tarantulas is in South America. There are about 300 species of tarantulas. The biggest tarantula is Pseudotherathosa apophysis, which has a leg span of about 13 inches (33 cm). These arachnids have a very long life span; some species can live over 30 years. Source: enchantedlearning.com
helanker
What a superb little creature. It ie quite beautiful in my opinion, but I dont mind not meeting it in person :) We only have such in the zoo LOL ! Great find and capture, Tara :-)
ronmolina
Excellent capture!
MrsRatbag
Yikes! You found this out in the wild? OK, that does it, I'm not going there. Ever. That's it. LOL! Great work, masks and all!
wlmay33
Outstanding capture Tara! I was going to college in Merced, CA one year (cough 1982) when the spring migration occurred. Looked like the whole ground suddenly opened up and moved. Millions of tarantulas moving south. Everyone was warned to stay inside that couple of days. A good time to make a horror movie, but, if I had been married to my wife at the time....she'd been history. Personally, I thought it was pretty cool to watch. It was over fairly quick and very interesting. I like Goodolboy's information. Me think's my blushing bride and I will NOT be making a trip to South America anytime soon. I like having her around. lol . Your photography is getting better and better. I have to catch up on your postings. I've been outa here a long....time.
beachzz
I've seen lots of these furry things. They're ugly, but mostly they'll just scare the heck out of you. Wimay's story about the migration reminds me of the time I was in Mexico and these weird crabs that moved sidways started THEIR migration. Kids would catch em and put em on leashes; its was just crazy. You could hear this strange sound they made as they moved. I wasn't unhappy when they finally got wherever they wanted to go! Jordan, of course, brought several home. Lucky me!!
bmac62
I tend to avoid snakes and tarantulas. Glad you pursued this little guy. Excellent presentation...his colors and details pop right out. Well done Hon:)
jocko500
evil looking. but I knew he there to do his thing on the planet earth
kgb224
Superb capture my friend. God bless.
wysiwig
A red butt, eh? And here I thought it was just a dye job. Some people keep them as pets. This is a terrific capture of the little fellow.
whaleman
I must remember that trick of desaturation to save content detail elsewhere...great idea! And this is a super shot. I didn't know they existed down that way, I'd love to see one.
SunriseGirl
Great capture. Indeed they are actually more scary to look at than dangerous. Many people do keep them as pets and even hold,pet and play with them. Thanks for sharing this superb shot. :)
moochagoo
I love spiders like this.
Rob2753
Well I'm fine with snakes or spiders but I prefer snakes, well I must do I have 20 of them in the house :) it's a great shot and interesting reading all the info and comments, I think he looks quite an attractive fellow and the detail is still there so it's a great shot all round :)
Adobe_One_Kenobi
I once held a Mexican red knee, I was not sure it was actually alive it seemed so motionless, then all of a sudden began to march up my arm. It was a strange feeling holding a spider I could feel the weight of. Excellent capture, and for the record Andrea, I have known a few women like that too
Wolfenshire
That's a male, red rump tarantula.
rickclark
Great shot. When I lived in western Oklahoma, I saw several migrations, each awsome, when my youngest son was small, we would go varmint hunting, not to shoot or harm, but just to watch. He and I were fascinated by that. Rick
PHELINAS
Beautiful little beast.....It is really charming(?) But great shot Tara as always
photosynthesis
Great shot, the detail is excellent. I ran across a tarantula on my trip to the southwest last year & posted a photo of him, but he wasn't nearly as colorful as yours...
debbielove
Its a male Tara.. You measure across the legs as far as I can tell..There thats my know how imparted! lol Now, me and spiders are a no go area..But I have on one occasion, under guidance and handcuffs, held a Tarantula at a zoo once! It felt like a mouse and just sat there.. I even stroked it.. It never even moved, and just walked off my hand when it needed to go to its keeper... Then, I laid down! Rob