Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I watch my White-Knee'd move around, and have always wondered about her peculiar slow-motion movements, such as walking; move one leg slowly out and plant it. Then bring another leg forward and plant it, slowly transferring her position one leg at a time. It's fascinating to watch her knees move in curves seemingly at random above her body. Now it occurs to me that this is an adaptation to her arboreal habitat. Moving slowly and deliberately may help these creatures to avoid falls, as when a sudden zephyr moves a tiny branch just as she scurries from one place to another in the canopy, causing a fall.

Supposedly she will grow a pair of extra-giant fangs, for the purpose of holding on after an initial strike. She does hold on now. If she struck, envenomated, and moved back to wait, her prey would fall to the ground. I've read that when I get bitten by her, my biggest concern will be the size of the wound, while her venom is of relatively low toxicity. For an arboreal species, I would just assume that the venom would be extra-strong and extra-fast. But I guess not with her. So I guess her large strong fangs replace the need for extra-strong venom. Maybe someday I'll get her to strike a fuzzy, and see how fast it succumbs. I don't want to chance having all my blood clot, or having the venom freeze all my nerves.

Roger

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

I know my pink toe is definatly quicker than my rose hair! But my babboon is awful quick too.

Huh. I may not know what I have. That means I don't know about it's venom. I've assumed it is a Brazilian White-Knee'd Bird Eater, destined to have an impressive diameter. The creature I was reading about was arboreal to wet Brazilian scrublands. I guess it does not necessarily follow that what the dealer sent me is the same creature I was reading about. I forget all the names were were writing back and forth to each other as we hunted for a captive specimen to become available.

I'll try to figure out how to use my close-up function, and take a couple quality pics.

Thank you both for your time and knowledge.

Roger