Tarantula colors ?

[NevularScorpion]

have you guys ever wonder why tarantulas have different colors and why they are so colorful but no one will see their color because they are nocturnal. Tarantulas only hunt or come out of their burrows at night but who will see their beautiful color in the dark? I want to find out this mystery about tarantulas. What is the purpose of them having beautiful colors? does anyone know something about this topic ?

 

[ShadowBlade]

but no one will see their color because they are nocturnal.

Not true. Males are often seen during the daytime, as well as females who are dislodged from their homes. And through natural selection, those with certain color combinations were harder to be seen by predators, therefore, reproduced more.

-Sean

 

[Tunedbeat]

You bring up a good point, as bright colored, blue tarantulas typically don't blend very well into their environment. Also, I don't think color is used to attract the opposite sex. So, what would be the purpose?

 

[thedude]

well if you mean like P. metallica it probably to tell some predators to back off.. very bright contrasting colors.

then you have dull things like A. hentzi which are brown and that has something to do with there environment.

and i think allot of the MM are dull because there out wandering the world and they don't need to be seen by a bigger predator

 

[Tunedbeat]

well if you mean like P. metallica it probably to tell some predators to back off.. very bright contrasting colors.

Using color as a warning/defense, now that is more fitting.
Anymore ideas?

 

[thedude]

Using color as a warning/defense, now that is more fitting.
Anymore ideas?

and i guess the cobalt blues have the blue color the have the same reason Morpho butterflies have theres... im not sure why that is but the blue is allot alike except you can alwase see it with morphos..

and the OBTs i couldnt have the slightest idea why they are soo orange

 

[DrJ]

and i guess the cobalt blues have the blue color the have the same reason Morpho butterflies have theres... im not sure why that is but the blue is allot alike except you can alwase see it with morphos..

and the OBTs i couldnt have the slightest idea why they are soo orange

Or...the blue color on the legs could attract a meal item? Blue legs sticking out of a burrow may appear to be something attractive to some insects.

The OBTs may be so orange to INTENSIFY their threat posture. They are very small for a T and the orange color makes them seem more frightening. Kinda like a "flaming orange fury ball of death".

 

[thedude]

Or...the blue color on the legs could attract a meal item? Blue legs sticking out of a burrow may appear to be something attractive to some insects.

The OBTs may be so orange to INTENSIFY their threat posture. They are very small for a T and the orange color makes them seem more frightening. Kinda like a "flaming orange fury ball of death".

ahh yes.. i agree with your lividium theory as well as the OBT

 

[Mushroom Spore]

does anyone know something about this topic ?

Either a deity or the whim of evolution does, take your pick.

 

[thedude]

Either a deity or the whim of evolution does, take your pick.

niiiice one

 

[DrAce]

The bright colours are likely a warning to others.

Duller browns are likely a camoflauge effect.

The other main reason for colouring is attracting a mate. Tarantulas aren't known for their ability to distinguish colour, but what we see as colour may be a dramatic contrast of grey to them.

 

[Le Wasp]

Theory in progress?

I've wondered this as well... The bright markings on some of the more fierce, displaying varieties (think OBT) make sense, but none of the others do. Visual appearances don't appear to play a great role during courtship (these things have bad eyesight), so why don't we see drab green and brown tarantulas instead of bright red and orange kneed varieties?

Also, I believe the blue morphos have blue upper wings in order to attract a mate. Blue is a good color for twilight hours, so that might make sense.

Hmmmm... how about this: the bright knee markings you see may divert attacks from birds, lizards, etc. away from the important parts of the tarantula like the cephalothorax and abdomen. The legs can even regenerate! Just like in a lot of lizards with bright, colorful tails: the tail is meant to grab a predator's attention. The predator catches the tail, while the lizard gets away to grow another tail.

If you were a naive bird that found a tarantula, the first thing you see might be eight little brightly colored, moving objects around a drab ball. You would either assume the bright things are toxic bugs, or possibly try to grab one to see how it tastes. A leg might come off, but the tarantula could make an escape.

Anyway, that's my on-the-spot theory.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

niiiice one

Despite the smiley, I was serious. Why is grass green, why aren't goldfish blue, etc etc etc? It just is, man. Tarantulas were either designed by deity/deities or evolution depending on who you ask (me, I don't care either way), but sure as heck nobody on the internet is gonna know.

EDIT: Which is not to say I don't "get" things like bright colors vs. predators, but then you're gonna have somebody ask "well why this bright color and not that bright color"? Mysteries of life.

 

[arachnidgirl]

Or...the blue color on the legs could attract a meal item? Blue legs sticking out of a burrow may appear to be something attractive to some insects.

The OBTs may be so orange to INTENSIFY their threat posture. They are very small for a T and the orange color makes them seem more frightening. Kinda like a "flaming orange fury ball of death".

Thats awesome....I want a Flaming orange fury ball of death....lol

 

[Tunedbeat]

Maybe they evolved to fool a certain predator?

Blue is not in a P. metallica, blue is the color it reflects and is what we are able to perceive.

 

[Tuwin]

Despite the smiley, I was serious. Why is grass green, why aren't goldfish blue, etc etc etc? It just is, man. Tarantulas were either designed by deity/deities or evolution depending on who you ask (me, I don't care either way), but sure as heck nobody on the internet is gonna know.

EDIT: Which is not to say I don't "get" things like bright colors vs. predators, but then you're gonna have somebody ask "well why this bright color and not that bright color"? Mysteries of life.

True for the most part but i think its the discussion thats the most interesting part. I don't think anyone expects anyone to come on here with a life turning answer. Its all about the fun of the discussion and theory's.

If it was evolution than everything would have a reason and a purpose

 

[Cocoa-Jin]

I tend to think the blanket assumption that Ts are nocturnal is a myth. Certainly some are, but not all.

My G. Rosea isnt nocturnal at all. She seems to be more active during the day...less active, but not neccessarily inactive at night.

For colorful nocturnal spieces, it may be true we as humans cant see them at night...but just about every other non-ape animal(espeically predators) may see very well at night.

The colors may be flashy to deter predation by implying they taste bad, are venomous or poisonous. But also it may provide camoflauge in low light. This may not apply but brightly colored fish with lots of red and orange pigment would seem to be easy to see in normal light in our experience, but in deeper waters where light intensity is less and red is almost or non-existent, these red pigments arent visibly red at all and would blend very well into shadows. If your red and you live in a world where very little to no red light exists and very few if any can see red, then you'd be a ghost under the right lighting conditions.

So perhaps these colors on spiders provide a not so obvious advantage in the proper lighting conditions, perhaps breaking up the Ts silohuette(sp?) by mixing highly visible and less visible parts so that another animal's brain doesnt attributes parts as one complete object...in this case a tasty T(assuming the the T is stationary).

The blues and purples might imply that there is also be a fair amount of UV colors that many animals(especially mammlian predators) couldnt see. By covering as much of the body as possible with hairs that reflect/refract(whatever) UV lights, one may find that the T becomes a very dark blob when stationary under even the best night vision or moonlighting. Not exactly a cloak, but certainly masking and degrading the benefits of night vision. Once again, just a guess...

 

[cacoseraph]

something to consider... the spectrum of light visible to humans is not the beall and end all of what is visible to the animal kingdom as a whole


perhaps the colors that are bright and vibrant to humans are quite dull to the main predators of that particular tarantula? perhaps they are like neon torches proclaiming THERE BE DEATH HERE.

 

[DrAce]

something to consider... the spectrum of light visible to humans is not the beall and end all of what is visible to the animal kingdom as a whole


perhaps the colors that are bright and vibrant to humans are quite dull to the main predators of that particular tarantula? perhaps they are like neon torches proclaiming THERE BE DEATH HERE.

Which is what I was suggesting with the 'tarantulas don't see things as we do' comment.

 

[hairmetalspider]

Bright colors are often warning signs, as some previously said.

For example, a scuttle fish will purposely go from being a bland, blending color to bright vibrant, even neon shades it seemingly 'flashes' through muscle contractions.


*Oooo something shiny...*