Roger,

I'm kinda confused here. White knee is A. geniculata right? That is not arboreal, so I'm not exactly sure what you mean about an adaptation to her arboreal habitat.

Fact is the terrestrial Ts are the slower more deliberate steppers. The arboreal species are usually fast and are quite sure footed on verticle surfaces.

Venom has adapted to be specific to the prey of that species (usually invertebrates). I'd say that a stronger, faster acting venom is desirable for arboreal species, but doesn't break out like that. Avicularia species do not have a strong venom. And the OW species do, but so do the OW terrestrials, so there goes that theory. It seems that the reason the OWs have stronger vemon is mainly defensive, since they lack the Urticating Setae, venom is their only line of defense.
-----
KJ Vezino
My Gallery
Missouri Tarantula Enthusiasts Group

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Show Entire Thread ]