Honduran curly haired tarantula

A tarantula has eight legs, two appendages called chelicerae at the front of their head by their mouth and they also have two pedipalps which are used to hold or carry prey. The Honduran curly haired tarantula has a plump body which is covered in dark hairs, the bronze sheen you see is some longer golden hairs. These sensitive hairs pick up vibrations within the air making the tarantula aware of its surroundings. Even though a tarantula has eight eyes their eyesight is poor, but it can detect variations in light and dark.

Tarantulas are nocturnal animals as well as being solitary and therefore are docile and rarely bite. They do not spin webs to catch their prey, but sit waiting patiently in their burrows. When food arrives they quickly bounce and inject venom into it which paralyses the prey. All tarantulas are venomous, but their venom is not strong. Throughout its life a tarantula will molt, to do this they lie on their back. After a molt the skin is very delicate and soft. If a tarantula has lost a leg it will regenerate a new one with the next molt, it will not be as big or hairy, but will increase over time with each molt. Their body can reach 9 centimetres (cm) while their legs can be up to 13 cm.

Our curly haired tarantula is part of our Education team and is not on view to the public.

IUCN Status

The IUCN status of the Honduran curly haired tarantula is least concern.

For more info on classifications visit www.iucnredlist.org (link opens in new window).