- Joined
- Dec 8, 2006
- Messages
- 17,985
I've long thought about some species many of us own and whether they are arboreal or terrestrial etc. I'm also aware captivity can induce unnatural behavior not observed in the wild. When coupled with a Ts amazing ability to adapt I have often wondered at times "what is natural" for certain species when they are in captivity.
In that context, I asked a biologist who has studied Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens in the wild if they are terrestrial, arboreal, semi-arboreal. Also of interest is the last comment about the many theraphosid taxa.
Below is what I learned from this person. I hope you all find this as informative and interesting as I did.
Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens live in extreme xeric conditions in sandy thorn tree/cactus forests on the Paraguana Peninsula of Venezuela. This species is an "opportunistic burrower", whereby, they will make their silken retreats in the dried fissures of the ground, in old dried and piled up cacti, at the base of large thorny trees or up in the natural cavities of those thorny acacia tree ... basically, wherever the prey availability forces them to make their retreat.
The trees are rarely higher than 12 feet and either cracks in the tree or natural tree cavities are never above 6 feet.
There are MANY theraphosid taxa that live high in trees that are not true arboreals AND there are true arboreals that have been found living in fossorial ground burrows or under fallen logs lying on the ground.
In that context, I asked a biologist who has studied Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens in the wild if they are terrestrial, arboreal, semi-arboreal. Also of interest is the last comment about the many theraphosid taxa.
Below is what I learned from this person. I hope you all find this as informative and interesting as I did.
Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens live in extreme xeric conditions in sandy thorn tree/cactus forests on the Paraguana Peninsula of Venezuela. This species is an "opportunistic burrower", whereby, they will make their silken retreats in the dried fissures of the ground, in old dried and piled up cacti, at the base of large thorny trees or up in the natural cavities of those thorny acacia tree ... basically, wherever the prey availability forces them to make their retreat.
The trees are rarely higher than 12 feet and either cracks in the tree or natural tree cavities are never above 6 feet.
There are MANY theraphosid taxa that live high in trees that are not true arboreals AND there are true arboreals that have been found living in fossorial ground burrows or under fallen logs lying on the ground.