Where do T's keep regenerating legs?

[Roland Slinger]

OK weird question but one that has my mind boggled. Say a T loses it's leg(s), where does it keep the spare while its regenerating inside the exovium (how do you spell that?)

I mean if it has all legs, it just pulls the new legs out of the old legs when it molts, but what about severed legs, where do they pull them from?

 

[satanslilhelper]

That's not a weird question at all. I've been wondering the same thing from time to time. I'm glad you posted this thread.

 

[Hobo]

I am sure I have no idea.
If I were to hazard a guess, I would assume they formed where the break was, only scrunched up accordian style. Then, as the spider starts to emerge during moulting, the leg would expand as it pumped blood into them, while the new Exo was still supple. Kind of like blowing one of those clown balloons

 

[vvx]

It would be interesting to see a video of a molt with leg regeneration.

 

[Roski]

Keeping in mind that it usually takes more than one moult for the T to COMPLETELY regain its old appendage, that's a really fun question- here's the answer:

After autonomy, a complete, new leg forms in the old coxal cavity. There’s little space in the
coxa, so the new leg is extremely folded and compacted internally. After the next molt, the new
complete leg will be smaller and thinner than the old leg until the next molt, or the one after that.
With tarantulas, how much smaller is highly variable. Some new legs come out nearly the length
and girth of the lost leg. Others may be as small as a third the size or less of the lost leg.

Breene, Robert Gale. On Arachnid Regeneration & Cosmic Spider Sperm. Date unknown. http://www.atshq.org/articles/Regeneration.pdf

All right, you got me, I was googling Cosmic Spider Sperm!

 

[JC50]

It is something i`m sure a lot of people have wondered at one point in time.I just had one of my T`s regenerate a lost leg and i had been checking it out just before it molted to see if i could notice anything different around the area where the leg was missing.I never noticed anything before the molt,but the leg was back,just a bit thinner than the others.Very interesting stuff.

 

[nicholo85]

This post comfirms the initial ideas I had on how the leg regenerates.

Also, Id like a vial of cosmic spider sperm please. I want to send my Tarantulas into outer space one day.

 

[Roski]

Looking at a diagram of tarantula anatomy, it makes sense- as described in the article, the tarantula snaps its leg at the coxa-trochanter joint. I used to imagine a hollow socket at the site of autonomy for Ts, but apparently the entire coxa is left behind, like a tiny, though significant compartment for the new leg to form. Like an airtight, vacuum-sealed, super-compressed duvet in one of those small plastic storage/transport bags that expand to a million times their size when opened. Anyone know what I mean? But it's biological!

This post comfirms the initial ideas I had on how the leg regenerates.

Good for you!

Also, Id like a vial of cosmic spider sperm please. I want to send my Tarantulas into outer space one day.

Join the club

 

[nicholo85]

Someone should put a T through a CAT scan.

 

[Sathane]

Great explanation. Thanks.

 

[Roland Slinger]

I am sure I have no idea.
If I were to hazard a guess, I would assume they formed where the break was, only scrunched up accordian style. Then, as the spider starts to emerge during moulting, the leg would expand as it pumped blood into them, while the new Exo was still supple. Kind of like blowing one of those clown balloons

Looks like you were right Hobo :clap:

Good guess.

 

[jbm150]

Cool stuff but I just want to point out that the correct term for casting off a limb is autotomy, not autonomy. Easy to mix up though

 

[Roski]

Thanks for the correction! I originally came across the term "autonomy" in the article and thought, "huh, well, it's liberating a leg!" mentally nodded in confidence, and moved on I love learning new words, though. Autotomy. *Nod*

 

[micheldied]

good read!
ive always wondered how a new leg would pop out of "no where"."

 

[t-lover]

i have always thought that it regenerated while molting, you know how the t grows after its out of the old exoskeloton by pumping blood to its limbs i thought that it just grew back a new limb like this insted of having it folded up ready for the molt.

 

[Crusaderwithgat]

Someone should put a T through a CAT scan.

I could do that. I make my living scanning and xraying people. A test run on some "other object" is helpful for teaching purposes sometimes.

Jim

 

[Sathane]

How awesome would it be if it grew to like 100x it's normal size and went nuts.

I could do that. I make my living scanning and xraying people. A test run on some "other object" is helpful for teaching purposes sometimes.

Jim

 

[Roski]

I could do that. I make my living scanning and xraying people. A test run on some "other object" is helpful for teaching purposes sometimes.

Jim

Go, Jim! You'll get some weird looks, that's for sure. If we don't learn much, the image would still make a kick-ass poster. As an anatomy fan, I would certainly pay for a copy

 

[Sathane]

Me too.

Go, Jim! You'll get some weird looks, that's for sure. If we don't learn much, the image would still make a kick-ass poster. As an anatomy fan, I would certainly pay for a copy