| Antilles Pinktoe Tarantula (Caribena versicolor (Walckenaer, 1837)) |
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Scientific name: Caribena versicolor (Walckenaer, 1837) Common name: Antilles Pinktoe Tarantula Other names: Martinique Red Tree Spider, Martinique Pinktoe. French name: Aviculaire antillaise, Matoutou falaise. Order: Araneae Family: Theraphosidae Size: Body size : 4 to 6 cm; Including the legs: 10 to 12 cm. Biotope: Humid or mesophilic forests, it is an arboreal spider Web: The Antilles Pinktoe Tarantula weaves a lodge of very strong silk threads in a tree crevice where it takes shelter. Observation period: All year round, females can live up to ten years. Males only live a few months and die after the breeding season. Geographic area: Strictly endemic to the island of Martinique. |
The Antilles Pinktoe Tarantula is a very colourful tarantula. The cephalothorax is metallic blue-green and the abdomen is covered with ferruginous red hairs. The legs are black with pink tips. Juveniles are metallic blue in colour with chevron-shaped markings on the abdomen. The Antilles Pinktoe Tarantula can be parasitized by blue wasps of the Pepsis genus. |
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I observed this Antilles Pinktoe Tarantula at the start of the Trace des Jésuites trail. |
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The metallic blue colour indicates a juvenile tarantula. |
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The body and legs are covered with sparse long white hairs. |
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This view allows you to see the chevron-shaped markings on the abdomen. |
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This little spider will have to be very careful because I also observed a large blue wasp of the Pepsis genus in the area. |
André Bon February 2024
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