How do tarantulas sense another tarantula?

Kathy

Arachnoangel
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Apr 4, 2009
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You know how dogs/cats pick up the scent - what about tarantulas? I have an a. avic and an a. versi next to each and out of curiosity when they were both on the side wall over the screen part, I moved the screens next to each other to see if they would react to another tarantula, but nothing happened. Got me to thinking, out in the wild do they follow movement, smell, or whatever to know another tarantula is in their territory.
 

JimM

Arachnoangel
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Nov 6, 2003
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Yep...at least that's as much as our own understanding of these animals tells us so far.
 

Scoolman

Arachnolord
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Feb 9, 2010
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In addition to feeling vibrations and air movement with the sensitive bristles on their bodies, they have chemoreceptors on the tibia of the pedipalps and first pair of legs. They may also have them on other legs as well. In essence they can taste/smell the air and anything they touch.
 

pok2010

Arachnopeon
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Oct 12, 2010
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What schoolman said, and the rest .. vibration's, smell, and taste... ;P
 

Bill S

Arachnoprince
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Oct 2, 2006
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For a good understanding of this you might want to read Witt & Rovner's Spider Communication: Mechanisms and Ecological Significance. There has actually been a lot of work done on this, and the answer is pretty complex. Drumming, auditory signals, visual signals and chemosensory/pheromonal signals can all play a part. (Visual signals are very important with some true spiders, I suspect much less important with tarantulas.) The book I mentioned above focuses primarily on true spiders, but it applies to tarantulas as well.
 
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