Image courtesy of Edna Park
The Park is home to Gwen, our female Brazilian Salmon Pink Tarantula.
Description: Brazilian Salmon Pink Tarantulas are one of the largest arachnid species with a leg span of up to 25 cm!
Distribution: Found in the eastern rainforests of Brazil on the forest floor. These tarantulas prefer forests floors with a lot of leaf litter and debris under which the spider can hide.
Diet: These tarantulas are carnivores eating small amphibians, insects, birds and reptiles.
Behavior: These spiders do not make a web but will hide in leaves or in a burrow in the ground. They wait for the right size prey to come by and ambush the unsuspecting dinner. They use their 2.54 cm fangs to inject venom into their food to immobilize it. They then secrete digestive fluids into the foot to begin breaking it down so that the spider can slurp it up.