King baboon spider
Pelinobius muticus
The Kenya giant tarantula is an African Vogelspinnenart, one of the largest and rarest species of its family. It was discovered in 1885 by Ferdinand Karsch and first described.
Distribution and habitat
The distribution area of Kenya giant tarantula extends within the African Rift around Lake Victoria in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Because of their hidden life in deep burrows, it is expected that the limits of their range will expand with better knowledge yet. Mainly you can meet them in semi-arid areas with very low water table at, which is due to living in caves.
Appearance and Body
Pelinobius muticus reaches a height (without legs) 10 ♂ - ♀ 13 cm. Note the rear pairs of legs; the penultimate pair of legs is longer than average for tarantulas, the last pair of legs can reach a length of up to 13 cm and a diameter of 9 mm. In addition, the last pair of legs has a curvature inwardly in the normal position. This Body indicates that Pelinobius muticus their burrows and digs himself transported out with their powerful hind legs earth from these. The abdomen also reached unusually large proportions, in captivity with good feeding up to 7x5 cm. The chelicerae are on a stately size of up to 1.9 cm; this size is exceeded only by the 2.5 cm long chelicerae of Teraphosa blondi. The coloring of the spider varies from reddish brown to golden brown. The coat is silky and looks smooth. The hair of the males are slightly longer, they also possess, in contrast to the females, no shin hook.
Way of life
The spider lies down in clayey soil burrows. These burrows are dug vertically into the ground up to 2 m. The actual living space of the spider is a horizontal tube at the end of the vertical. This is so dug that the spider can rotate freely without much trouble at all positions and go into attack position if they have to defend themselves. The entire tube and a small area around the entrance are lined with spider silk to locate prey or attackers quickly. The animals leave their burrow rarely and always at night to go to catch prey (males also in the bridal shop ). They will eat anything - can be overwhelmed, but mainly large insects such as locusts and small mammals such as mice - usually by a surprise attack from the burrow. Klaas et al. say the spider after a very aggressive and unpredictable nature, they also should not let go so quickly once it has bitten.