''Theraphosa stirmi'' is a species of

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 ...

belonging to the family Theraphosidae. It is known as the burgundy goliath bird eater.

Distribution

This species occurs in

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, in tropical South America.

Description

In ''Theraphosa stirmi'' the

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 ...

can reach a length of and a width of . The longest leg (the fourth) in a male had a total length of . Coloration of these heavy-bodied spiders varies from rusty brown or rich burgundy-brown to dark brown, with reddish

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 ...

on legs and abdomen and white lines on the legs. Adult males lack mating spurs or tibial apophyses. Spiderlings and juveniles have pink tarsi on the front two pairs of legs.

Behavior

These tarantulas hide themselves in long tubes that they dig under the surface or use abandoned

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

burrows. It is a crepuscular and nocturnal species and it is quite defensive.Basic Tarantulas
/ref> When threatened this species will stridulate (hiss) to warn predators, it may also rear up and expose its

fangs A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fangs ...

. Another self-defence mechanism of this spider is to use its back legs to flick

urticating hair Urticating hairs or urticating bristles are one of the primary defense mechanisms used by numerous plants, almost all New World tarantulas, and various lepidopteran caterpillars. ''Urtica'' is Latin for "nettle" (stinging nettles are in the genu ...

s from its abdomen. These hairs are microbarbed and can cause irritation of the skin and when inhaled irritate the nose and throat. As last resort it will strike with its fangs. In captivity it feeds on any suitable sized invertebrates such as large

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are a paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are well-known as ...

es and

crickets Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 8 ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1995630 Spiders of South America Theraphosidae Spiders described in 2010