Mombasa starburst tarantula

Captive breeding specimen.

I took a shot of a Mombasa golden starburst tarantula mid-run. My goodness, these characters are fast and highly defensive.

In natural habitat, these tarantulas are found in Angola, sub-Saharan Africa and the island of Zanzibar. They are ground-dwellers found in a variety of habitats, including bushes, low trees and burrows under rocks.

Also commonly referred to as the orange baboon tarantula. I understand there to be several colour forms of this species.

Juvenile female.

comments (4)

Paul Dirksen

Lion

Great shot, and as sharp as a needle Ruth. Posted 5 years ago
1. Ruth Spigelman
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks Paul. Posted 5 years ago

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Fantastic species intro! I hear they're nicknamed OBT: Orange Bitey Thing, for its "confrontational personality". Posted 5 years ago
1. Ruth Spigelman
  
  Lion
  
  Yes Ferdy. I mentioned the defensiveness in my narrative. It is really an acronym for orange baboon tarantula, but is taken in humour as orange bitey thing. I can attest to that - they are up there with our funnel webs for defensiveness, but I've yet to meet a funnel web that 'charges' as these do. Posted 5 years ago

The Usambara Baboon Tarantula

''Pterinochilus murinus'', is an old-world tarantula that was first described in 1897 by Reginald Innes Pocock. This species is found on the African continent, in Angola, as well as central, eastern, and southern Africa. It is a member of the subfamily Harpactirinae, baboon spiders.

Info 2 0

Similar species: Spiders

Species identified by Ruth Spigelman