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Desert Blonde Tarantula (Aphonopelma chalcodes)
Aphonopelma chalcodes
The Aphonopelma chalcodes, known as 'Desert Blonde Tarantula' or 'Arizona Blonde'. Considered the quintessential American desert spider, it is famous for its contrasting colors: bright straw blonde carapace and legs, dark black abdomen and femurs (4.7-5.5 inches legspan). Robust and long-lived, it is famous for the exhausting fasts that defy all logic, resisting in lethargy under the arid soil. It is a tireless and extremely placid digger, perfect for neophytes of the extreme desert biome.
Class:Arachnida
Order:Araneae
Family:Theraphosidae
Subfamily:Theraphosinae
Genus:Aphonopelma
Species:Aphonopelma chalcodes
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
50 - 65 %
Day temperature
24 - 29 °C
Night temperature
20 - 24 °C
UVB
None
Species description
Geographic Origin and Habitat: No additional source-verified editorial notes are available about geographic origin and habitat for Aphonopelma chalcodes. Consult this record's parameters and sources.
Taxonomy and Genetics: No additional source-verified editorial notes are available about taxonomy and genetics for Aphonopelma chalcodes. Consult this record's parameters and sources.
Behaviour and Habits: No additional source-verified editorial notes are available about behaviour and habits for Aphonopelma chalcodes. Consult this record's parameters and sources.
Morphology and Sexual Dimorphism: No additional source-verified editorial notes are available about morphology and sexual dimorphism for Aphonopelma chalcodes. Consult this record's parameters and sources.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium setup: In the cited reproductive-behaviour study, spiders were housed separately in wide-mouth gallon jars with at least 2 cm of equal parts soil and peat moss. This describes the study conditions, not a universal enclosure specification.
Lighting and heating: The study used artificial laboratory lighting without controlled photoperiod and maintained 23–27 °C. These were study conditions, not a captive temperature or lighting prescription.
Humidity and hydration: Each study jar had a cup of saturated tissue paper as a water source. The paper does not establish a general humidity regime.
Feeding and supplementation: Each individual in the study was fed once a week on a variety of arthropods. This is a reported study schedule, not a universal feeding protocol.
Compatibility and cohabitation: The study housed spiders separately; 33 laboratory matings were observed in a 15-gallon glass aquarium lined with gravel. These observations do not establish general cohabitation guidance.
Health and common diseases: After field capture, spiders were transported to the laboratory at night to reduce heat stress. This handling detail is not a disease or treatment protocol.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
This species originates from: Stati Uniti / Messico (Deserti aridi e macchie dell'Arizona, Nuovo Messico e Sonora).
Origin
Central America and CaribbeanNorth America
Terrestrial invertebrate profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 15 cm
- Lifestyle/Microhabitat
- No verified data available
- Activity cycle
- No verified data available
- Sociality
- No verified data available
- Reproduction
- No verified data available
- Venom level
- No verified data available
- Handling tolerance
- No verified data available
- Brumation
- No verified data available
- Molting
- No verified data available
The catalog's scalar value is 15 cm. The Herpeton Academy — Aphonopelma chalcodes source reports a maximum adult measurement of 15 cm for this species, recorded as diagonal leg span (DLS). The taxonomic record consulted is Aphonopelma chalcodes. These figures are not interchangeable: the first is the profile's editorial reference, whereas the second is a published maximum under a specific measurement convention; differences among sources can reflect sex, population, life stage and measuring method.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
Related species
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