''Poecilotheria ornata'', known as the fringed ornamental or ornate tiger spider, is a large arboreal

tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

, which is endemic to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Their legspan sometimes reaches 10 inches (25 cm) in females, and is probably the second largest of the genus, behind '' Poecilotheria rufilata''.

Name

The name ''

Poecilotheria ''Poecilotheria'' is a genus of tarantulas native to India and Sri Lanka. It was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1885. They are arboreal tarantulas, commonly known as ornamental tarantulas, known for their vivid color patterns, fast mov ...

'' is derived from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

"poikilos" - spotted and "therion" - wild beast. Ornata refers to "adorned to". This whole genus of arboreal tarantulas exhibits an intricate fractal-like pattern on the abdomen.

Identification

The species is easily distinguishable by other tiger spiders due to greenish yellow or purplish carapace in dorsal surface. Ventrally, there is a proximal white spot on femur of fourth pair of legs.

Description

Female

Dorsally,

carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...

has greenish yellow or purplish tinge. Femur is greenish tinge with a purplish tinge. Tibia has two parallel lines of oblong yellow spots. All legs possess reddish brown

setae In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...

and setae are more prominent on

pedipalp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicerae ("jaws") and ...

s and

chelicerae The chelicerae () are the mouthparts of the subphylum Chelicerata, an arthropod group that includes arachnids, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. Commonly referred to as "jaws", chelicerae may be shaped as either articulated fangs, or similarly ...

. Ventrally, first and second leg pairs are identical, with ground color yellow. Femur is also yellow. Tibia is bright yellow colored. Third and fourth leg pairs are identical. Ground color of them are yellow. Femur is black with centrally located large blue-grey spot.

Male

Dorsally greenish brown colored. Markings are less prominent. Ventrally, identical to female. Yellow spots can be seen on third and fourth leg pairs.

Behavior

The ''P. ornata'' behavior parallels that of many arboreal spiders. In the wild the ''P. ornata'' live in holes of tall trees where they make asymmetric funnel webs. Their primary prey consists of various flying insects, which they catch manually (not in a web) and paralyze. It is not unknown for the spiders of this genus to live communally when territory, i.e. number of holes per tree, is limited. The spider is noted to have a possibly mutualistic relationship with frogs such as '' Ramanella nagaoi'', sharing tree holes of which some were observed to contain eggs and/or juveniles from the spider, frog, or both. As observed between frog '' Chiasmocleis ventrimaculata'' and tarantula ''

Xenesthis immanis ''Xenesthis immanis'', the Colombian lesser black tarantula, is a terrestrial bird spider (tarantula) originating from Colombia. It is a relatively large spider with a body length reaching 6–7 cm and a length width reaching 19-22 cm. ...

'', the spider may protect the frog from predators while the frog protects the spider's eggs from ants.

Bites

Although there has never been a recorded death from any

bite this species is considered to have a medically significant bite, with

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

that may cause intense pain, and extreme muscle cramping judging from the experience of keepers bitten by this species.Schmidt, G. (1988): Wie gefährlich sind Vogelspinnenbisse ? Deutsches Ärzteblatt 85 Heft 28/29(2): 1424-1425.

References

External links

bighairyspiders.com, fringed ornamental (Poecilotheria ornata)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1305445 ornata Spiders of Asia Endemic fauna of Sri Lanka Spiders described in 1899