Tarantula Mating

[moonsprite]

I've been watching videos of Ts mating and I notice the female tends to expose or extend her fangs. Can anyone tell me why she does this? I usually think she's about to attack the male but it doesn't always happen. I've tried searching myself but nothing really comes up.

 

[Poec54]

When two cannibals get together, they don't trust each other. Why should they? Most adult males have tibial hooks that hold the female up by her exposed fangs, so this self-protection has probably been going on for millions of years. Two daggers over their head encourages males to be on their way after completing their duty for the species, either to look for another female, or to leave the vicinity and not compete for prey.

In some species post-mate males are tolerated for varying periods, probably due to either an abundance of prey at that time of year, or because predation takes a heavy toll on them as they look for partners.

 

[Flexzone]

I was curious myself, I googled as-well and found a section of the "TKG" that explains that if the female tarantula is still passive, the male will will move closer at the same time sliding his front pairs of legs between her pedipalps and over her chelicerae. She then rear's up to expose fangs, It then goes on to say that its not an expression of hostility necessarily, but the willingness of the female to engage in the mating. It then allows males with tibial hooks to secure the female's fangs just in case to prevent injury.
Also in an article of New Zealand journal of zoology(1990), Minch(1979) observed the same mating response in A. chalcodes. Where the male started tapping the top of her burrow, The female emerged and extended her fangs in the anticipation to mate as-well. While vibrating his body up and down, Male started tapping the female with forelegs. The male then used his hooks to hold and keep the female into position to mate.

 

[beaker41]

In my experience the moment you get a pair on the same surface they know immediately what's going on. I don't know if there are pheromones in the silk or they just know the vibrations of a mate, but nearly every time the female responds to taps in mating mode rather than lunch mode. As to the cannabalism, it only makes sense. What's the best thing to make a bunch of tiny tarantulas out of ? A big tarantula! All the ingredients are right there !