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Costa Rican Zebra Tarantula (Aphonopelma seemanni)
Aphonopelma seemanni
The Aphonopelma seemanni, famous as 'Costa Rican Zebra'. It is an unmistakable terrestrial/burrowing tarantula: dark black or chocolate brown body (4.7-5.5 inches legspan) broken by bright creamy-white (or yellow) longitudinal stripes on all legs, resembling those of a zebra. Unlike the docile North American cousins (chalcodes), the seemanni is fast, nervous, a formidable digger and requires a very deep and humid substrate, typical of tropical climates.
Class:Arachnida
Order:Araneae
Family:Theraphosidae
Subfamily:Theraphosinae
Genus:Aphonopelma
Species:Aphonopelma seemanni
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Environment
Terrestrial
Humidity
65 - 75 %
Day temperature
24 - 28 °C
Night temperature
20 - 24 °C
UVB
None
Species description
Geographic Origin and Habitat: World Spider Catalog lists Aphonopelma seemanni from El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. This taxonomic distribution entry does not characterize habitat conditions.
Taxonomy and Genetics: World Spider Catalog lists Aphonopelma seemanni (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897) as an accepted species in Theraphosidae. Its edit history records the 2023 synonymy of Aphonopelma latens with A. seemanni; the catalog entry does not provide genetic results.
Behaviour and Habits: The cited taxonomic catalog does not provide behavioural observations for this species.
Morphology and Sexual Dimorphism: The cited taxonomic catalog entry does not provide a morphological description or sexual-dimorphism measurements; none are inferred here.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Terrarium Setup: The cited study observed female tunnel entrances in a rocky grassland with isolated trees at Pozo Azul, Abangares, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It is a field observation, not a captive enclosure protocol; it does not provide enclosure dimensions or a substrate specification.
Lighting and Heating: In the Guanacaste rainy-season observations, females were predominantly nocturnal, with greatest activity between 6:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. and low daytime activity. This field pattern is not a prescribed lighting or heating schedule.
Humidity and Hydration: The source reports observations in the rainy season and does not quantify humidity or state a captive humidity target. Seasonal field context must not be converted into a terrarium requirement.
Feeding and Supplementation: This study does not report diet, prey quantities, supplementation, or a feeding schedule; no feeding recommendation is added here.
Compatibility and Coexistence: The study monitored female activity at individual tunnel entrances and does not assess cohabitation; it provides no compatibility recommendation.
Health and Common Diseases: No disease, treatment, or veterinary-management data are reported in this field-activity study.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
This species originates from: America Centrale (Foreste secche e praterie umide da Costa Rica a Honduras).
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 The Tarantula Collective — Aphonopelma seemanni source reports a maximum adult measurement of 15 cm for this species, recorded as diagonal leg span (DLS). The taxonomic record consulted is Aphonopelma seemanni. 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.
