CHILEAN ROSE HAIRED TARANTULA

Grammostola rosea

Chilean rose-haired tarantulas earned their name by being found in northern Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina. Their overall color is brown to black with rose-hued hairs, earning the second part of their name. Like all tarantulas, they have four pairs of legs, making eight legs total, and they have four other appendages near the mouth called the chelicerae, which contain the fangs and venom, and pedipalps, which are used as feelers and claws. Due to their bodies being made up this way spiders are technically not insects, but arachnids, because insects have three body parts and six legs total, whereas tarantulas and spiders have two body parts and eight legs total. Due to their docile nature, these tarantulas are popular in the pet trade, and with their popularity increasing they can have negative effects on their populations.

Click HERE for a Tarantula Activity Sheet!

OUR CURRENT RESIDENT

Taboo, Female – Hatch January 1st, 2014

Taboo was donated to the zoo in 2015 by a private individual who previously had her as a pet. Taboo is located inside on the back wall and is often moving extremely slowly and or not moving at all.

You can get to know Taboo better and meet her in person through our programs scheduled through the education department!

TAXONOMY

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Theraphosidae
Genus: Grammostola
Species: Grammostola rosea

ANIMAL FACTS

Carnivore: mainly eat insects, frogs, spiders, and small mammals like mice (and eat infrequently)

Population Status: currently listed as Not Listed

Habitat: dry grasslands and deserts

Activity: nocturnal- mostly active during the night