Tarantula Facts

About the tarantula

Tarantula bodies run about 5 to 11 cm long, and leg spans reach 8 to 30 cm. The goliath birdeater of Venezuela and Brazil is the heaviest, reported at 170 g, with fangs up to 4 cm. Its cousin the pinkfoot goliath has the widest leg span. Like other arachnids, a tarantula has two main body parts joined by a narrow waist, all protected by an exoskeleton.

Most North American tarantulas are brown, but elsewhere you can find cobalt blue species, black ones with white stripes, and one with metallic blue legs, an orange abdomen and a green front section. Habitats range from savanna, grassland and desert to rainforest, cloud forest, scrubland and mountains. Some common species are popular pets, though many New World kinds carry irritating hairs that bother skin and eyes.

Did you know?

• Scientists have sorted tarantulas into almost 200 genera.
• Scientists named the pinkfoot goliath a full 187 years later than the goliath birdeater.
• To get leg span, you measure diagonally from a rear leg tip across to the far front leg tip.