Tarantula vision.

[Danthevine4432]

I’m not sure if this is the appropriate place for it so if it’s not a moderator can move it or remove it at their discretion up to them. Anyways tarantulas I know the majority do not have good vision at all. But with the little eyes they have on the top of their head do they actually react to Light?

 

[spideyspinneret78]

Yes. They have very poor vision in most cases, but they will react to light and movement. Some species are very sensitive to light, which is why it can be interesting to observe them with red light, which is a wavelength that their eyes can't detect.

 

[Danthevine4432]

Yes. They have very poor vision in most cases, but they will react to light and movement. Some species are very sensitive to light, which is why it can be interesting to observe them with red light, which is a wavelength that their eyes can't detect.

So they have enough sensitivity for just basic movement detection?

 

[viper69]

I’m not sure if this is the appropriate place for it so if it’s not a moderator can move it or remove it at their discretion up to them. Anyways tarantulas I know the majority do not have good vision at all. But with the little eyes they have on the top of their head do they actually react to Light?

The different eyes have varying sensitivity to light, this is true for true spiders as well.

If you want to learn more, google T vision. You'll find a nice paper about it. They see best into the green spectrum- again, the paper only tested 1 species.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

In many cases, yes...with some variation depending on the species of course. Tarantulas mainly hunt using their tactile sense, and their eyes are mainly just used to detect light/ dark and movement, to help orient them towards prey.

 

[Moakmeister]

In many cases, yes...with some variation depending on the species of course. Tarantulas mainly hunt using their tactile sense, and their eyes are mainly just used to detect light/ dark and movement, to help orient them towards prey.

I don’t think their eyes help them at all. I bet they’re pretty much for letting them know if it’s dark or not.

 

[Danthevine4432]

In many cases, yes...with some variation depending on the species of course. Tarantulas mainly hunt using their tactile sense, and their eyes are mainly just used to detect light/ dark and movement, to help orient them towards prey.

I’ve always been interested in Spider vision. I’ll look up the papers that they mentioned.

 

[viper69]

I don’t think their eyes help them at all. I bet they’re pretty much for letting them know if it’s dark or not.

I cannot say if they aid in hunting. I can say some species do detect movement, esp some Avics and Pokis.

Now if you’re a jumping spider that’s a different story. I knew a scientist who did research on their vision.

 

[Danthevine4432]

I cannot say if they aid in hunting. I can say some species do detect movement, esp some Avics and Pokis.

Now if you’re a jumping spider that’s a different story. I knew a scientist who did research on their vision.

I know jumping spiders have insane vision tarantulas and their cute eyes are just a huge source of interest to me

 

[Arachnid Addicted]

This should be helpful

The Evolution Of Colouration And Opsins In Tarantulas

Tarantulas paradoxically exhibit a diverse palette of vivid colouration despite their crepuscular to nocturnal habits. The evolutionary origin and maintenance of these colours remains a mystery. In this study, we reconstructed the ancestral states of both blue and green colouration in tarantula...

www.biorxiv.org

 

[Danthevine4432]

This should be helpful

The Evolution Of Colouration And Opsins In Tarantulas

Tarantulas paradoxically exhibit a diverse palette of vivid colouration despite their crepuscular to nocturnal habits. The evolutionary origin and maintenance of these colours remains a mystery. In this study, we reconstructed the ancestral states of both blue and green colouration in tarantula...

www.biorxiv.org

Interesting article. So I guess their vision is pretty poor by looking at the article.

 

[Ungoliant]

I’m not sure if this is the appropriate place for it so if it’s not a moderator can move it or remove it at their discretion up to them. Anyways tarantulas I know the majority do not have good vision at all. But with the little eyes they have on the top of their head do they actually react to Light?

A tarantula's eyes can sense changes in light levels but likely cannot see much else.

For a discussion of how spider vision is assessed, see my response to this thread.

Some excerpts from Biology of Spiders:

In most spiders the sense of vision plays only a minor role in behavior. Many spiders are active at night and are thus more dependent on tactile and chemical cues than on sight. For web spiders, visual stimuli seem to be especially unnecessary, since these spiders can build their webs at night and catch their prey in total darkness. But to conclude from these observations that vision is irrelevant for such spiders would be premature. The orb weaver Araneus sexpunctatus (synonym Nuctanea umbratica) can detect very subtle changes in light intensity; the time it leaves its retreat in the evening is apparently closely related to the diminishing light at dusk. Other orb weavers drop very quickly out of the hubs if their webs when an observer approaches them, and this behavior is most likely a response to visual stimuli alone.

Vision is important to some spiders other than orb weavers. Sheet-web spiders (Agelenidae) and wolf spiders (Lycosidae) can perceive polarized light, and they use it to orient themselves. For most modern hunting spiders (Lycosidae, Thomisidae, Salticidae), the sense of vision is important, not only for capturing prey but also for recognizing the opposite sex during courtship.

Finally, even in some spiders that are not renowned for their visual system (in this case, large tarantulas), a discrimination of polarized light was demonstrated in behavioral experiments.

 

[Danthevine4432]

A tarantula's eyes can sense changes in light levels but likely cannot see much else.

For a discussion of how spider vision is assessed, see my response to this thread.

Some excerpts from Biology of Spiders:

Yes I got the posts and I’m reading through it. If you want to walk this thread delete it or whatever you decide to do that’s fine with me.