Aphonopelma seemanni
Encyclopedia
The Costa Rican Zebra Tarantula, also known as the Striped-knee Tarantula (Aphonopelma seemanni), inhabits most of western Costa Rica
, as well as other parts of Central America
, such as Guatemala
, Honduras
and Nicaragua
. It is black with white stripes near the joint. Specimens from Nicaragua are tan-coloured.
Zebra tarantulas are deep-burrowing spiders. They live in open semi-arid grasslands in Costa Rica, and are found in large aggregations. The deep burrows keep the temperature below the highest daytime temperatures, and retain humidity.
Zebra tarantulas can grow to about 10–13 cm including legspan. Females can live up to 20 years. Males however, tend to live a much shorter life of up to five years. Diet consists of many insects. In the wild, they will eat insects such as cockroach
es. In captivity they will eat cricket
s.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, as well as other parts of Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, such as Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
and Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. It is black with white stripes near the joint. Specimens from Nicaragua are tan-coloured.
Zebra tarantulas are deep-burrowing spiders. They live in open semi-arid grasslands in Costa Rica, and are found in large aggregations. The deep burrows keep the temperature below the highest daytime temperatures, and retain humidity.
Zebra tarantulas can grow to about 10–13 cm including legspan. Females can live up to 20 years. Males however, tend to live a much shorter life of up to five years. Diet consists of many insects. In the wild, they will eat insects such as cockroach
Cockroach
Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations...
es. In captivity they will eat cricket
Cricket (insect)
Crickets, family Gryllidae , are insects somewhat related to grasshoppers, and more closely related to katydids or bush crickets . They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae. There are about 900 species of crickets...
s.