Stridulating T's

[SpiderFood]

hey guys, i was doing some reading the other day about a dudes tarantula "stridulating", i dont remember what i was reading or where it was but i was wondering what that sounds like, and what species stridulates.
thanx

 

[Jesse607]

When my T's stridulate it sounds like throwing water on a hot stove or burner, but not as loud. I have heard my P. murinus and my C. crawshayi stridulate for sure, and I may have heard my A. geniculata stridulate, but I wasn't sure.

 

[Steve Nunn]

Originally posted by SpiderFood
hey guys, i was doing some reading the other day about a dudes tarantula "stridulating", i dont remember what i was reading or where it was but i was wondering what that sounds like, and what species stridulates.
thanx

Hi,
Depending on species, it typically sounds like someone saying "shshshshshshshshs". It can last for up to about a half a minute, depending again on species. Nearly everything from the subfamily Selenocosmiinae stridulates, some other Asian subfamilies: Ornithoctoninae, Thrigmopoeinae, A few of the Africans (C.crawshayi, Hyserocrates spp., subfamily Harpactirinae, etc) and some of the subfamily Theraphosinae also stridulate: Theraphosa spp., Lasiodora spp., Grammastola spp., Acanthoscurria spp., Phormictous spp., and the theraphosine subfamily Eumenophorinae.

The locations of some of these stridulating organs vary too. In most species the organ is found between the outer cheliceral surface and the pedipalpal coxae. In the Theraphosa it is found between the first pair of legs and the femora of the pedipalps. There is another location but I can't think of it at the moment.

Hope this helps,
Steve

 

[Bry]

Newbie question....

What's the purpose of stridulating? Is it supposed to be some kind of warning noise?

Bry

 

[Steve Nunn]

Re: Newbie question....

Originally posted by Bry
What's the purpose of stridulating? Is it supposed to be some kind of warning noise?

Bry

Hi Bry,
There's a lot of conjecture as to why therahosids stridulate. It's not unique to tarantulas either. Some members of the mygale family Barychelidae stridulate too (Idiomnata, encocrypta, etc).

It is definately used to startle predators, as can be heard when upsetting some of the stridulating T's. It has been heard during mating sessions in captivity, although not always, it has also been heard for no particularly obvious reason.

Bottom line is there seems to be no set purpose for stridulaing, although the most noteable is defensive dislay.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Raveness]

My P.murinus sounds like a cockatiel... she is freakin loud!! My H.lividum sounded like a spray paint bottle... shaking.. those beads at the bottom when you shake.. lol.. Something like that.

 

[pategirl]

I've heard it from my big fat rosie...it sort of suprised me. She's a grouch anyway. It's not really loud, but one can still hear it.

 

[Godzilla2000]

Here's the official definition of the word for future reference.

stridulate - 1. to produce a shrill grating, creaking, or chirping sound by rubbing certain parts of the body together, as some insects do.

 

[Godzilla2000]

I can truthfully say that I have not heard one of my Tarantulas making such a sound, yet. That might change with the two Baboons I've acquired recently though. Hopefully they'll be goopd little semi-mellow spiders. I mean I was told the Cobalt Blue was the devil incarnate and she's been pretty good.

 

[Steve Nunn]

Originally posted by Raveness
My P.murinus sounds like a cockatiel...

Good stuff hey? The sounds can vary somewhat because of the different bristle types used in the stridulating organ. The subfamily Selenocosmiinae have on the outer basal face of the chelicerae a bunch of these stiff, erect bristles called 'strikers' that make up part of the stridulating organ (lyra), whereas on others such as the subfamilies Ornithoctoninae and Thrigmopoeinae the bristles are in the same position, but are curved and 'spatula' shaped. This is just one small example of morphological variances of the stridulating organ that gives each type a slightly unique sound. These variances can further be broken down too, depending on subfamily. For example within the subfamily Selenocosmiinae, on both the genera Chilobrachys and Poecilotheria (which are now in their own subfamily Poecilotherinae), the maxillary lyra consist of only peg shaped setae or enlarged paddle shaped setae. But when looked at further, the lyra setae on Poecilotheria spp. include short blunt pegs, whereas on Chilobrachys spp. the lyra setae are enlarged and paddle shaped. The morphological variation continues amongst mos genera of the Theraphosidae.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Lycanthrope]

My T. blondi stridulates pretty loudly. she doesnt just do it when disturbed either, she''ll do it every time she grabs prey, and continues to do it the first few moments she holds it.

 

[Mendnwngs]

... "outer cheliceral surface and the pedipalpal coxae"

... "morphological variances of the stridulating organ"

Um,

I got a lot to learn.


-jason

 

[Godzilla2000]

Originally posted by Mendnwngs
... "outer cheliceral surface and the pedipalpal coxae"

... "morphological variances of the stridulating organ"

Um,

I got a lot to learn.


-jason

I guess in layman's terms all you really need to know is that they are appendage thingies and whatnot that make some kind of sound or something like that.