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Rio Grande Gold Tarantula (Aphonopelma moderatum)
Aphonopelma moderatum
The Aphonopelma moderatum, known as 'Rio Grande Gold'. One of the rarest and most chromatically stunning American tarantulas. Small and stocky (3.9-4.7 inches legspan), it stands out for its legs horizontally striped with golden yellow and orange, contrasting with the dark brown body, which give it an unusual exotic charm for the genus. Rustic, docile and with glacial growth like its sisters, it is a collector's gem for lovers of burrowing desert spiders.
Class:Arachnida
Order:Araneae
Family:Theraphosidae
Subfamily:Theraphosinae
Genus:Aphonopelma
Species:Aphonopelma moderatum
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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: In a 2016 revision of United States Aphonopelma, Aphonopelma moderatum reaches its northernmost documented distribution in Val Verde County and is otherwise largely distributed south along the Rio Grande Valley. This source does not provide enclosure guidance or a general habitat prescription.
Taxonomy and Genetics: The revision identifies Aphonopelma moderatum as a phylogenetically distinct monophyletic lineage, supported as sister to Aphonopelma gabeli and Aphonopelma moellendorfi.
Behaviour and Habits: No behavioural or husbandry inference is made here: the cited source is a taxonomic revision and the recovery is limited to its documented diagnostic and distributional facts.
Morphology and Sexual Dimorphism: The revision states that females and subadult males have an orange body with distinctly darkened black or dark-brown banding on the patellae, metatarsi and tarsi. It does not provide a general adult male–female comparison for this field.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: World Spider Catalog lists Aphonopelma moderatum as distributed in the USA. That distribution record is not a captive-enclosure specification; the source provides no enclosure dimensions, substrate protocol, or furnishing guidance.
Lighting and Heating: The cited taxonomic record provides no captive lighting schedule or temperature target; none is inferred here.
Humidity and Hydration: The cited taxonomic record provides no captive humidity target or hydration protocol; none is inferred here.
Feeding and Supplementation: The cited taxonomic record provides no species-specific captive diet, feeding frequency, or supplementation protocol; none is inferred here.
Compatibility and Coexistence: The cited taxonomic record provides no cohabitation or handling guidance; none is inferred here.
Health and Common Diseases: The cited taxonomic record provides no disease, treatment, or veterinary-management guidance; none is inferred here.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
This species originates from: Stati Uniti / Messico (Vallate aride, boscaglie e deserti costieri del Rio Grande, Texas meridionale).
Origin
Central America and CaribbeanNorth America
Terrestrial invertebrate profile
- Diet
- No verified data available
- Life expectancy
- No verified data available
- Adult size
- 14 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 14 cm. The The Tarantula Collective — Aphonopelma moderatum source reports a maximum adult measurement of 14 cm for this species, recorded as diagonal leg span (DLS). The taxonomic record consulted is Aphonopelma moderatum. 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
Recommendations grouped by close relatives, companion choices, and similar care.
