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Tarantulas are one of the creepiest creatures on earth as they belong to spiders and spiders are amongst those creatures that people fear the most. They belong to the family of spiders named Hairy Mygalomorphs. These creatures have not evolved much in the past years and there are almost more than 700 kinds of species of animals. today we discuss about can tarantulas jump? in this article.
Can tarantulas jump?
It doesn’t really matter whether you own a tarantula pet or you just randomly found a tarantula in your house. You really should know what specific features a specific tarantula has and can they jump? If they can, what should you do?
The thing is not all tarantulas jump but in some cases, they might. They also sometimes jump a bit while catching their prey. If they fall during jumping it is very dangerous to them and they might die as well. Therefore, it is not likely that you see a jumping tarantula. if you want to know about Are tarantulas poisonous?
But there are some species of tarantula which can. Those species in particular which live in areas where trees are abundant, those spider species are found to jump.
Some particular species can jump up to 2 feet and according to some researches are even high.
Tarantulas that can jump
Tarantulas that are found in areas where trees are in abundant areas can jump particularly Avicularia avicularia which is also known as “pink toe”. Actually, any Avicularia can jump but there are some other species which can jump as well these are:
- Taphinauchenius
- Psalmopoeus
- Pocelotheria
- Lasiodora
- Omothymus
- Stromatopelma calceatum
The main thing is the above species can jump but mainly the jumping capability is associated with the species living in tropical areas.
Do they survive after falling?
Can tarantulas jump? Yes, they can jump. But can they survive if they fall during a jump? That’s a thing to debate. The factor that determines the resistance to fall is determined by the jump height. Higher the distance higher will be the chance of the fall and ultimately a more serious or fatal injury. They have evolved some mechanism that can resist a fall in some species but that does not mean they always will.
Fact is tarantulas belong to such a class of spiders that are heavy in weight and are also very strong but despite all Hercules characteristics they are very delicate creatures as well.
So if you own a tarantula make your handling minimal and even when you handle it take all the necessary precautions to eliminate the risk of fall.
How high can tarantulas jump?
Most tarantulas can jump to a few inches and the amazing thing is that they don’t jump vertically rather than they jump horizontally. Pink toe tarantulas and other arboreal species can jump even higher up to 11 inches. Although every jumping spider is not tarantula however there are some spiders which are not tarantulas which can jump due to their internally evolved “hydraulic mechanism” which enables them to push their bodies several feet forward than their body weight. They can change their body pressure towards feet which enables them to jump at quite a height even without actual muscular legs. These jumping spiders usually make a silk net that aids them if they fall during a jump.
If jumping spiders were the size of tarantulas?
You will not see jumping spiders relative to the size of tarantula and the reason lies in their circulatory system which does not have blood vessels like most mammals have. Also tarantulas are sedentary creatures which means that their circulatory system does not allow them much strenuous physical exercise.
The tarantulas have a circulatory system in which their muscles are drenched through hemolymph (blood) which is not an effective circulatory system thus not allowing them to jump frequently and to a lot of heights.
The one reason is also that tarantulas are quite bulky and to jump they need to push the hemolymph towards their legs which is the only movement their muscles do thus depriving the head and other organs from hemolymph making it fatal for the tarantula.
Therefore, tarantulas cannot do physical exercises for prolonged periods or they will run out of breath. On the other hand, jumping spiders too make only that level of physical movement which their circulatory system can support and not the vice versa.
Jumping spider facts
Normally spiders don’t have a very interesting or loving profile. But trust me you will actually like the jumping ones because they are quite pretty, colorful and are easy on eyes. Not just that they got some interesting features and behaviors as well. Following are the interesting facts that we have collected regarding the jumping spiders.
- Are they poisonous? Yes technically speaking they are. They are venomous and they use it for capturing and to paralyze them.
- They just don’t randomly keep jumping; they usually do that to capture their prey which are mostly other insects.
- Need to learn some dancing skills? Well you can learn some moves from them. Male spiders attract the females by ecstatic moves. They also do the tap dancing as well but they do it at such a speed that human eye can’t even see their feet. There is a particular specie called “peacock spider” which just adds that necessary factor to the dance by waving their feather like extension during the dance.
- These spiders have eyes of an eagle meaning that they are quite good at vision. They have four sets of eyes that means a total of eight eyes.
- Unlike other spiders they don’t create a web or a net to capture their prey but that doesn’t mean they can’t. These spiders made silk webs to protect them from cold or rainy weather.
- They mimic other insects as well. There is a particular kind of spider which looks like an ant and it bends it’s two legs making them more like antennas.
World’s biggest jumping spiders
Spiders are among the oldest creatures on earth and they are mostly misunderstood by just relating them to as pests. However, these are the most beautiful creatures on the earth who have evolved and survived this planet for millions of years.
Biggest spider on one of the world is the Bird eating spider. The spider belongs to a tarantula family. This Bird eating spider can jump up to 11 inches and the giant huntsman spider which can jump up to 12 inches which are equal to 30 centimeters and the most amazing thing is that these spiders are only half of an inch.
Tarantulas facts and information
- There are almost 900 species of tarantula.
- There are various myths about the tarantula’s venom but in reality there are only a few species whose venom is actually fatal. Tarantulas are very shy and last creatures and they only bite when they are disturbed and very few spiders have venom bites.
- Some of the species have sticky brushed presents on their feet which enables them to climb up vertically even on the smoothest of leaves.
- After mating, the female carries the egg in the form of a cocoon similar to a butterfly and carries it with her body.
Question and answers
Can tarantulas jump high?
Tarantulas can jump to as high as 11 inches. The height of the jump varies from species to species.
Can tarantula spiders jump?
Yes, they can and they do it so by altering the pressure towards their feet. They have a built in hydraulic system which makes them jump at higher heights. However, there are few species which can effectively do that. Most of the time a jump can prove fatal or lethal for the tarantula.
How far can tarantulas jump?
One thing is that they don’t jump vertically, they jump horizontally. Jumping height varies in different species. At most they can jump to 11 inches.