tarantula mouths?

[klawfran3]

I am a little confused. how does a tarantula eat? I have heard some people say they suck it through their fangs, other say they have a small mouth that the food gets shoved into, and then a thrid say that they absorb it through some hairs (I have a feeling that last one isn't true). which one is it? sorry if this seems stupid, I just really want to know.

 

[EightLeggedFreaks]

They liquefy the victim with their venom and suck it up with their mouth. Then you have what's left over called a bolus that they drop for you to clean up.

 

[Formerphobe]

Here is a decent diagram showing mouth and sucking stomach:
http://brettmacquarrie.tripod.com/tarantulaanatomy/

 

[Tman86]

From what I've read they bite it to inject venom to subdue then they puke up stomach acids to liquify from the outside in and suck up the liquid. Alot of people beleive the venom liquifies it from the inside out but from what I read that is not true. But you can't always beleive what you read either and im no expert.

---------- Post added 06-08-2013 at 10:54 PM ----------

And about the hairs absorbing it part I don't know but I have watched them get water drops off the glass and it appeared my P irminia used the red hairs around its mouth to sort of vacum up the water.

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

I recommend picking up Rainer Foelix's Biology of Spiders. You'll gain a major appreciation for how they work.

 

[SuzukiSwift]

The venom injected into the victim will liquefy its insides (that's why it hurts when injected into you!), the tarantula has a 'sucking stomach' (I remember on one thread we came up with the name Tarantula Vacuum Cleaner) that will suck the liquid into the stomach. The remains (exoskeleton) of the prey is discarded as bolus, its a very amazing process actually

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

The venom injected into the victim will liquefy its insides (that's why it hurts when injected into you!)

No. That is NOT how the prey is digested or why the bite hurts. The venom immobilizes/kills the prey - it releases digestive enzymes that then break down the prey.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Wow, there are a few that need to pick up a book before answering questions. Like others have said, digestive fluids are excreted out of the mouth ONTO the tarantula's prey digesting it externally. The liquid meal is then sucked up back through the mouth. The sucking stomach is responsible for both actions. The network of "guts" in the abdomen/ opithosoma is what stores the digested food and releases nutrients when prey isn't available. What is left over, known as the bolus, is what couldn't be digested. Those red bristles surrounding the mouth do not do any absorbing but are there to act as a filter for larger particles that won't be able to fit through the spider's mouth. Those red bristles are what allows a tarantula to drink water straight from the ground without ingesting dirt or other pieces of debris for example.

 

[klawfran3]

thank you all very much. this helped a ton.