Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Mar;207(2):179-190.
doi: 10.1007/s00359-020-01456-0. Epub 2021 Jan 2.

Giant steps: adhesion and locomotion in theraphosid tarantulas

Valentina Silva  1   2 , Carlo Biancardi  2 , Carlos Perafán  3 , David Ortíz  3 , Gabriel Fábrica  4 , Fernando Pérez-Miles  5
Affiliations
Review

Giant steps: adhesion and locomotion in theraphosid tarantulas

Valentina Silva et al. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

Theraphosid tarantulas are large spiders that bear dense hairy adhesive pads on the distal parts of their legs: scopula and claw tufts. These structures allow them to climb on vertical smooth surfaces and contribute to prey capture. While adult females and juveniles remain most of the time in their burrows, adult males actively walk searching for females during the reproductive period. Adhesion and locomotion thus play important roles in the ecology and reproduction of these animals. In this paper, we review the current state of the knowledge on adhesion and locomotion in tarantulas, focusing on functional and evolutionary morphology.

Keywords: Adhesion; Evolutionary morphology; Functional morphology; Locomotion; Tarantulas.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Abourachid A (2003) A new way of analysing symmetrical and asymmetrical gaits in quadrupeds. Comp Rend Biol 326:625–630. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1631-0691(03)00170-7 - DOI
    1. Alexander RMN (2003) Principles of animal locomotion. Princeton University Press, Princeton
    1. Altmann SA (1987) The impact of locomotor energetics on mammalian foraging. J Zool 211:215–225. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1987.tb01530.x - DOI
    1. Álvarez L, Perafán C, Pérez Miles F (2016) At what time, for what distance, and forhow long does the tarantula Eupalaestrus weijenberghi (Araneae, Theraphosidae) leave its burrow during the mating season? Arachnology 17:152–154. https://doi.org/10.13156/arac.2006.17.3.152 - DOI
    1. Anderson JF, Prestwich KN (1985) The physiology of exercise at and above maximal aerobic capacity in a theraphosid (tarantula) spider, Brachypelma smithi (FO Pickard-Cambridge). J Comp Physiol B 155:529–539. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00694442 - DOI

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources