Bug Wiki
Sticker of Mexican redrump tarantula
Bug card No. 0923 of 1,500

Mexican redrump tarantula

Tliltocatl vagans
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsSpidersDeserts and dry places8 legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The Mexican redrump tarantula is a big black spider with bright red hairs on its round back end. It digs a burrow in the ground and waits there for food to walk past. It is usually calm and slow.

Fun fact: spiders are not insects. Insects have six legs, spiders have eight. Everyone calls them bugs anyway!
Lives in
Mexico and Central America, in dry bushy land, and now also in Florida
Top speed
about 1.5 km/h (0.93 mph)
On foot, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Can bite or sting
What does it eat?
It eats almost anything it can overpower, mostly insects, but sometimes small lizards or mice.
For real!Photo of Mexican redrump tarantula
Picture by Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE. CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

With its legs stretched out it can be about 16,5 centimetres across, bigger than a grown-up's hand.

2

Females can live for 25 to 40 years, longer than many dogs and cats.

3

Since 1996 some have lived wild in Florida, probably after pet spiders escaped or were let go.

4

Too many were taken from the wild for pets, so it is now protected and can be in danger of dying out.

you asked

Most asked questions about Mexican redrump tarantula

?How long does a Mexican redrump tarantula live?

Females can live 25 to 40 years. Males have much shorter lives.

?What does a Mexican redrump tarantula eat?

Mostly insects, and sometimes small lizards or mice.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Tliltocatl vagans
Named by
Ausserer, 1875
Group
Spiders
Family
Theraphosidae
Classification
Arachnida > Araneae > Theraphosidae
Lives on
North America
Also known as
Mexican red rump

Where the facts come from

  1. Tliltocatl vagans (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE. CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.

More from the same group: Spiders

Also at home here: Deserts and dry places