Portal:Latin America/Featured picture/Week 27, 2006

Tarantulas are long-legged, long-living spiders, whose entire body is covered with short glittery hairs called setae. Tarantulas inhabit tropical to temperate regions, including South America and Central America.

The body of the tarantula pictured above is approximately 2.5 inches (6.2 cm) long. Despite their often scary appearance and reputation, none of the true tarantulas are deadly spiders (spiders having a strong toxin, dangerous to humans), and this particular kind of tarantula is regarded as especially docile.

In the wild, they will consume almost any kind of arthropod, small lizard, or small rodent that they can overpower and immobilize with their venom.