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Megaphobema mesomelas
A very large tarantula, about 15 cm long. walking along a trail in Monteverde Reserve , Costa Rica. This species is consider endemic to Costa Rica and is found in elevations between 400 to 2500 meters over sea level, the individual in this picture is a male and is common to see the wandering along the forest looking for potential preys as well as females that most of the time are in their burrows. At the moment I take the pictures the spider gets nervous and lift it body on it legs showing the abdomen were they have pubescent with tiny hairs that might cause irritation to potential predators. after I saw the wonderful tarantula a large pepsis wasp flew by, that kind of insect is the most important predator of tarantulas.
Dense Rainforest and Cloud Forest. still not consider an spider from open areas.
3 Comments
Super series JS
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated!
Costa Rica sure has beautiful wildlife. :)