Words List
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BCF: Blue Color Form.
Booklungs: Tarantula respiratory organs located on the ventral aspect of the opsithoma.
Boxing gloves: The enlarged bulbus pedipalps of a mature male tarantula. Also called 'embolus/emboli'.
Brachy: Shortened way of saying "Brachypelma" (in species).
Bulbus: A pointed, eighty pipe to the reservoir of the male pedipalps in which the sperm cells are stored.
Carapace: The dorsal aspect of the prosoma. It features the eyes and central apodeme.
Central apodeme: The groove found in the middle of a tarantulas carapace, stabalizes internal muscles. Marked with a horn in a few species. Also called 'medium fovea'.
Cephalon: Head. Along with the thorax fused into cephalothorax.
Cephalothorax: The carapace of the tarantula where the legs and probes are attached.
Chelicerae: Venomous fangs of a tarantula.
Chitin: A hard protective coating of proteins that gives strength to the body of the tarantula.
CITES: 'Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora'. A regulation that controls the international trade in plants and animals.
Communal: A tendancy that a limited number of species exhibit where they tolerate other members of the same species and can be kept in groups. Very often this tendancy diminished as the spiders get older. Any attempt at keeping tarantulas communally could end in disaster and should be attempted with caution and lots of research.
Coxa: The hip of the tarantula, the first leg part from the body.
Eggs with legs: This is the 2nd molt after the egg stage.
Embolus/emboli: The enlarged bulbus pedipalps of a mature male tarantula. Also called 'boxing gloves'.
Exuvia/exuviae: The skin that the tarantula leaves behind after a molt.
DCF: Dark Color Form (color morph).
Death curl: The position the tarantula is in when it is dying. They will be upright with their legs curled underneath of them, like a fist.
Desiccated: Dried up and dehydrated.
Dorsal: The top side of a tarantula.
Dust cricket: Very small crickets, used to feed very small spiders. Also called 'pinhead crickets'.
Dyskinetic Syndrome: A normally fatal disease that affects tarantulas but extremely rare. Symptoms include jerky, spastic, or wobbly movements.
GBB: Shortened way of saying "Greenbottle Blue" (Chromatopelma cyanopubescens).
Gravid: Pregnant.
Instar: The number of the molt the tarantula is on after it hatched into a spiderling. For example: 1st instar, 2nd instar, 3rd instar, etc.
NCF: Normal Color Form.
Nematode: A worm-like parasite that can infect tarantulas. Usually found around the mouth parts.
Nymphs: An indication for the young stages of the tarantula without complete metamorphosis. Tarantulas after the second molt in the egg sac called the nymphs.
Palps: Shortened way of saying "pedipalps".
Patella: The knee of the tarantula, the fourth leg portion from the body.
Pedipalps: The two short leg-like appendages at the front of the tarantula. Tarantulas use them to hold prey. When a male has his final molt, his sexual organs (emboli) appear at the ends of the pedipalps.
Pet hole: A burrowing specie/specimen that does not frequently come out of its burrow.
Pharynx: Esophagus.
Pinhead cricket: Very small crickets, used to feed very small spiders. Also called 'dust crickets'.
Pre-molt: This is the period before the tarantula molts (stops eating, darkened abdomen, sluggish behavior, etc).
Pokie: Shortened way of referring to the Poecilotheria species.
Post-molt: This is the period just after the tarantula molts while the exoskeleton and fangs are hardening up.
Post-ultimate: When a male tarantula has molted for the last time.
Prosoma: The anterior body segment of a tarantula.
PZB: Shortened way of saying "Pink Zebra Beauty" (Eupalaestrus campestratus)
T: Shortened way of saying "tarantula".
T Blondi: Shortened way of saying "Goliath Birdeater" (Theraphosa blondi).
Tap: Shortened way of referring to the Tapinauchenius species.
Tarsus: The foot of the tarantula, the seventh leg portion from the body.
TCF: Typical Color Form.
Terrestrial: Tarantulas that live on the ground. They prefer floor space over wall-space. At a minimum the floor space should be 1.5 times the leg span wide and 2.5 times the legspan long. They can be injured from falls of a very short distance and it is recommended that the height above the substrate is no more than 1.5 times the legspan.
Theraphosidae: The scientific family that tarantulas belong to.
Thorax: The chest area. Together with the head it forms the cephalothorax.
Threat pose: When the tarantula stands up on its legs, with front legs spread wide and straight up in the air, often with fangs visible.
Tibia: The shin of the tarantula, the fifth leg portion from the body.
Tibia-apofysen: Secondary sex characteristics of the male tarantula. It's visible in most species at the tibia of the first pair of legs, which are used during mating in order to keep the fangs of the female away from its body. Also called 'tibial hooks'.
Trochanter: the thigh ring of the tarantula, the second leg portion from the body.
RCF: Red Color Phase.
Receptacula siminis: The sperm reservoir female tarantulas.
Abdomen: The rear part of a tarantula which includes the digestive and reproductive organs.
Apolysis: The first phase before the tarantula molts. It refuses food and stays in a resting phase until the molt starts.
Arboreal: Tarantulas that live up, off the ground, either on the walls, in the foliage, or in tube webs that they make themselves. Height is more important than floor space. Climbing structures should be provided. Example genera include Avicularia, Poecilotheria, and Psalmopoeus.
Autotomy: The ability to divest legs or other limbs to escape enemies.
Avic: Shortened way of saying "Avicularia" (in species) or sometimes specifically Avicularia avicularia.
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Scopula: Dense, brush-like hairs at the foot and midfoot used for the attachment to a smooth surface and a function for touch. Especially attended with arboreal tarantulas.
Setae: Hairlike bristles that are external extentions of the exoskeleton.
Sexual dimorphism: When one gender has a characteristic difference from the other (color, size, etc.).
Sling: Shortened way of saying "spiderling".
Species: Scientific term for the type designation, abbreviated 'sp.'.
Sperm web: A tent shaped web the male uses to deposit his sperm and collect it in the bulbus pedipalps.
Spermathecae: Term for a female tarantulas reproductive organs. They are internal and are visible on the inside of the exuvium. Finding the spermathecae in the molt is the most reliable method for sexing a tarantula as a female.
Spiderling: A baby tarantula, after the nymph stages when they got hair.
Sternum: Beastplate at the bottom of the tarantula.
Stridulate: Some tarantulas have stridulatory setae which make a 'hissing' sound when rubbed together to deter predators.
Mandibulae: The mouthparts of a tarantula.
Malpighian tubules: A tiny tubing network in the abdomen of the tarantula with a similar effect of the kidneys in mammals.
Medium fovea: The groove found in the middle of a tarantulas carapace, stabalizes internal muscles. Marked with a horn in a few species. Also called 'central apodeme'.
Metatarsus: The midfoot of the tarantula, the sixth leg portion from the body.
MM: Mature Male.
Obligate burrower: Tarantulas that dig their own borrows (often very deep) directly into the substrate. Often called pet holes since they usually stay hidden at the bottom of their burrow, well out of sight. They should be given a very deep substrate to give them the freedom to dig. Example species include Haplopelma lividum and Aphonopelma chalcodes.
OBT: Shortened way of saying "Orange Bitey Thing", "Orange Baboon Tarantula" (Pterinochilus murinus).
Opisthoma: Abdomen.
Opportunistic burrower: Tarantulas that take an existing structure (rock, bark, roots, etc.) and modify or dig around/under it to create their burrow. These tarantulas will often adopt an artificial burrow (flower pot, cork bark, coconut shell) in captivity. Some will not use a hide at all. Example genera include Grammostola, Brachypelma, and Aphonopelma.
Femur: The thigh of the tarantula, the third leg portion from the body.
Haplo: Shortened way of saying "Haplopelma" (in species).
Heamolymphe: The body fluid of the tarantula which approximately has the same functions as blood and takes care of the transport of proteins, oxygen, and carbon dioxide.
Hmac or H mac: Shortened way of saying "Heteroscodra maculata".
Hybrid: An infertile individual that has come from parents of two different species.
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Juvenile: A tarantula that is at a stage in its life where it is between a spiderling and an adult.
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Urticating hair: The barbed setae that New World tarantulas can dislodge as a defensive mechanism. The setae cause (temporary) blindness, skin irritations and respiratory problems. Especially the genera Brachypelma and Theraphosa apply this method of defense, but other genera of the American continent will do so aswell. The proper term is 'urticating setae'.
Ventral: Underside or belly of the tarantula.
Versi: Shortened way of saying "Antilles Pinktoe" (Avicularia versicolor)
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LCF: Light Color Form.
Legspan: Size of the specimen measured from the tip of their first leg to the tip of their last leg (diagonally).
LP: Shortened way of saying "Lasiodora parahybana".
LS: Shortened way of saying "legspan".
