Location
Geographic Range
Scientific Information
Lifestyle and Lifespan
Conservation
The Brazilian black tarantula is glossy black all over its body. The abdomen is bulbous and all eight eyes are clustered at the front.
The Brazilian black tarantula is in the same genus as the Chilean rose tarantula, but their colorations are very different.
The Brazilian black tarantula is covered in tiny little hairs, though they are not made out of the same things as our hair. These hairs allow them to sense movement nearby, but also can be flicked off their abdomen by their back legs. The hairs are barbed at the end, and can cause major irritation to a predator.
Not enough information is known on this species to determine home range and population numbers.
This tarantula will eat large insects, such as crickets, other arthropods, and mice and small lizards.
Mostly herbivorous, uromastyx do consume invertebrates in juvenile stages of life. This species is prey to may birds, snakes, wolves and monitor lizards thus being a very important food source in a sparse dessert habitat. Although solitary in the wild our Mali Uromastyx (right) lives with her best friend, a common chuckwalla (left), in our zoo's education department. See them sleeping together pictured below. They make a great ambassador team. Despite originating from opposite sides of the world both Mali Uromastyx and chuckwallas share an herbivorous diet, and a dry, rocky desert habitat type.
One of the main defense postures of tarantulas is to raise their front legs and pedipalps to show their fangs. This is a warning to other animals nearby.
Tarantulas in general are solitary, and the Brazilian black tarantulas are no exception.
Mating occurs during the summer, from June through September. The smaller male will approach a female and touch her with his front legs to see if she is receptive. If she is, she will raise her front legs and allow the male to insert his sperm into the female’s seminal receptacle on the underside of her abdomen using his pedipalps.
A female Brazilian black tarantula can lay up to 600 eggs at one time.
These tarantulas have chemical sensors on their body to tell if something is food or liquid.
Brazilian black tarantulas hide out in their burrows, either to wait for food, or because they feel threatened.
Like all tarantulas, the Brazilian black tarantula will molt and shed their exoskeleton. The resulting molt looks just like the tarantula, and may even confuse some humans! However, the molt will be very lightweight and have a break on the carapace where the tarantula exited.