Psalmopoeus irminia

Psalmopoeus irminia
Mature female
Metatarsus & tarsus of legs I & II
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Family: Theraphosidae
Genus: Psalmopoeus
Species:
P. irminia
Binomial name
Psalmopoeus irminia
Saager, 1994[1]

Psalmopoeus irminia, commonly known as the Venezuelan suntiger, is a species of arboreal tarantula endemic to Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil.[1][2]

This is a popular species in the exotic pet trade, largely due to the unique appearance of the female, and can be successfully bred in captivity.

Description

Psalmopoeus irminia is a New World tarantula species, it is black with vibrant orange markings on the abdomen and legs.

Males, once sexually mature, are sexually dimorphic, becoming entirely grey/grey-brown, only retaining orange markings on its tarsi, as well as appearing to have much "leggier" proportions.[3]

Taxonomy

P. irminia was first described in 1994 by F. Saager.[4] The presence of stridulatory setae (hairs), also called lyra, on the maxillae distinguishes it as a Psalmopoeus species. This trait is absent in all other described New World species, and is thus a unique diagnostic criterion for Psalmopoeus.[5][2]

Behavior

P. irminia have a diet that mainly consists of invertebrates. They have been observed living in crevices and holes above ground, lined with sheetlike or tubular webbing that can have material from the environment (eg. leaf litter) incorporated into them. [2] [6] They construct similar structures in captivity.

When threatened, this species may flee into its retreat, or throw a threat posture in an attempt to deter predators, raising its front legs and showing its fangs. Psalmopoeus species lack urticating hairs typical of most New World species, instead, their primary modes of defence are aposematic display or aggression (biting), if they cannot evade a threat. [7][8] The undersides of its tarsi and metatarsi and iridescent, which are visible during this display, and likely to aid in it.

Molting and life cycle

In order to grow, theraphosid species must undergo ecdysis (shedding the exoskeleton). Tarantulas moult periodically throughout their lifespan, this process leaves them particularly vulnerable to predation and other harm both during and for a limited time after, as the new exoskeleton hardens.[9][10][11]

P. irminia spiderlings have an orange-red carapace, black legs with pale metatarsi, and a black abdomen with markings resembling the adult's chevron pattern. As the spiderlings grow, they begin to gradually develop the black carapace, legs and orange markings, with each consecutive moult. Eventually, both sexes will become black, with orange "flame" leg markings, and abdominal pattern. The female remains this color throughout her life, while the male emerges almost entirely grey upon his moult into sexual maturity.[3]

  • A mature male, note the resemblance to Psalmopoeus cambridgei
  • In captivity, showing subadult and adult female coloration
  • Sling
  • Juvenile

Sexually mature males also have palpal bulbs (copulatory organs) in place of their pedipalp tarsi. Mature males spin sperm webs, specialized webs that hold sperm deposited from the genital opening, from which they can harvest and store the sperm inside the palpal bulb, ready to inseminate a female.

Etymology

The epithet "irminia" was given by Saager in honour of his lifepartner, Irmi Oberhuber.[3]

  • dorsal view
  • Dorsal view of mature male
  • Mature male
  • On wood
  • 'Front view, showing clear leg markings.
  • Climbing
  • Pet with prey item

References

  1. ^ a b "Taxon details Psalmopoeus irminia Saager, 1994". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  2. ^ a b c Bertani, Rogério; Santos, Arthur De Sena; Abbeg, Arthur Diesel; Ortiz, Flora Roncolatto; De Freitas, Marco Antonio (22 March 2016). "First record of the genus Psalmopoeus (Araneae: Theraphosidae) in Brazil". Check List. 12 (2): 1860. doi:10.15560/12.2.1860.
  3. ^ a b c Saager, Frank (1994). "Psalmopoeus irminia sp. n., Beschreibung einer neuen Aviculariinae (Theraphosidae, Aviculariinae, genus Psalmopoeus) inclusive einem Vergleich mit Psalmopoeus cambridgei". Arthropoda. 2.
  4. ^ "World Spider Catalog". wsc.nmbe.ch. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
  5. ^ Pérez-Miles, Fernando (2020). New World Tarantulas: Taxonomy, Biogeography and Evolutionary Biology of Theraphosidae. Zoological Monographs. Cham: Springer International Publishing AG. ISBN 978-3-030-48644-0.
  6. ^ Blake, Max; McKeown, Niall J.; Bushell, Mark L. T.; Shaw, Paul W. (2016-09-01). "DNA extraction from spider webs". Conservation Genetics Resources. 8 (3): 219–221. doi:10.1007/s12686-016-0537-8. ISSN 1877-7260.
  7. ^ Bennie, Mikaela (2011-12-01), Laboratory husbandry of arboreal tarantulas (Theraphosidae) and evaluation of environmental enrichment (PDF), p. 2
  8. ^ Pérez-Miles, Fernando; Perafán, Carlos (2017), Viera, Carmen; Gonzaga, Marcelo O. (eds.), "Behavior and Biology of Mygalomorphae", Behaviour and Ecology of Spiders, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 29–54, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-65717-2_2, ISBN 978-3-319-65716-5, retrieved 2026-03-11{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  9. ^ Pellett, Sarah; O’Brien, Michelle (2019-05-01). "Exoskeleton Repair in Invertebrates". Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice. Orthopedics. 22 (2): 315–330. doi:10.1016/j.cvex.2019.01.008. ISSN 1094-9194.
  10. ^ Pellett, Sarah; Trim, Steven A. (2020-08-11), Kubiak, Marie (ed.), "Tarantulas", Handbook of Exotic Pet Medicine (1 ed.), Wiley, pp. 459–475, doi:10.1002/9781119389934.ch23, ISBN 978-1-119-38994-1, retrieved 2026-03-11{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)
  11. ^ Brown, Mark R.; Sieglaff, Douglas H.; Rees, Huw H. (2009-01-01). "Gonadal Ecdysteroidogenesis in Arthropoda: Occurrence and Regulation". Annual Review of Entomology. 54 (54): 105–125. doi:10.1146/annurev.ento.53.103106.093334. ISSN 0066-4170. PMC 7205109. PMID 18680437.

Peer Reviewed

  1. Bertani, Rogério; Santos, Arthur De Sena; Abbeg, Arthur Diesel; Ortiz, Flora Roncolatto; De Freitas, Marco Antonio (22 March 2016). "First record of the genus Psalmopoeus (Araneae: Theraphosidae) in Brazil". Check List. 12 (2): 1860. doi:10.15560/12.2.1860.
  2. Psaila, Nathan (October 13, 2005). "Husbandry Manual for Exotic Tarantulas" (PDF).
  3. Foley, Saoirse; Lüddecke, Tim; Cheng, Dong-Qiang; Krehenwinkel, Henrik; Künzel, Sven; Longhorn, Stuart J.; Wendt, Ingo; von Wirth, Volker; Tänzler, Rene; Vences, Miguel; Piel, William H. (November 2019). "Tarantula phylogenomics: A robust phylogeny of deep theraphosid clades inferred from transcriptome data sheds light on the prickly issue of urticating setae evolution". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 140 106573. Bibcode:2019MolPE.14006573F. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106573. PMID 31374259.
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