# Texas Brown Tarantula (*aphonopelma hentzi*) The Texas Brown Tarantula is a large spider that loves to burrow in the ground. These hairy creatures are fascinating to watch as they move around their habitats at night! - **Category:** [Invertebrate](https://www.snappit.app/explore/categories/invertebrate) - **Rarity:** Common - **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low - **Snaps:** 7 - **Habitat:** Grasslands, forests, and burrows in Texas - **Also known as:** Brown Tarantula, Hentz's Tarantula, Texas Spider, Texas Tarantula ![Texas Brown Tarantula](https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:Redirect/file/Texas_Brown_Tarantula.jpg&width=800) Photo: Mothore, CC BY-SA 3.0 · [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Texas_Brown_Tarantula.jpg) ## Appearance The Texas Brown Tarantula is a large, hairy arachnid, typically dark brown to black. Its stout body and legs are covered in fine, velvety hairs, giving it a fuzzy appearance distinct from smoother spiders. ## Taxonomy - **Kingdom:** Animalia - **Phylum:** Arthropoda - **Class:** Arachnida - **Order:** Araneae - **Family:** Theraphosidae - **Genus:** Aphonopelma ## Interesting facts - A Texas Brown Tarantula cleans itself like a cat, carefully grooming its legs and fangs. - Despite its name, its color can range from dark brown to black, and even reddish. - They taste their food with tiny sensory organs located on their pedipalps, not just their mouths. - This tarantula often lives in an underground burrow, sometimes for many decades! ## Special abilities - **Urticating Hairs:** Texas Brown Tarantula has barbed hairs on its abdomen that helps them defend against predators by irritating skin or eyes. - **Silk Spinner:** Texas Brown Tarantula can produce silk to line its burrow, wrap prey, and create egg sacs that helps protect its young. - **Limb Regrowth:** Texas Brown Tarantula can regrow lost legs through molting because this ability helps them recover from injuries. ## Measurements & details - **Size:** 15 cm - **Weight:** 40 g - **Lifespan:** 25 years - **Clutch Size:** 750 ## Diet & Feeding This fuzzy hunter loves to munch on crunchy insects and sometimes even tiny vertebrates! - **Primary Foods:** crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, small lizards, small mice - **Foraging Method:** Ambush ## Ecological connections - **Eaten by:** Tarantula Hawk Wasp (*Pepsis formosa*) — Wasps paralyze tarantulas to lay eggs on them. - **Hunts:** [Field Cricket](https://www.snappit.app/explore/field-cricket) (*Gryllus assimilis*) — A common insect often caught and eaten by the tarantula. - **Eaten by:** [Burrowing Owl](https://www.snappit.app/explore/burrowing-owl) (*Athene cunicularia*) — Sometimes preys on wandering tarantulas, especially males. - **Eaten by:** [Coyote](https://www.snappit.app/explore/coyote) (*Canis latrans*) — Mammals can sometimes dig up and eat tarantulas from their burrows. ## Traits - [Solitary](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/solitary): Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care. - [Burrowing](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/burrowing): Burrowing animals dig tunnels and chambers in the ground, using these subterranean structures for shelter, hunting, or breeding. - [Carnivorous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/carnivorous): This trait identifies organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of animal tissue. - [Nocturnal](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/nocturnal): Nocturnal animals are primarily active during the nighttime hours, typically resting or sleeping during the day. - [Venomous](https://www.snappit.app/explore/traits/venomous): Venomous organisms produce toxins that are injected into another animal, typically through a bite or sting. ## Collections - [Invertebrates](https://www.snappit.app/explore/collections/invertebrates) ## Safety **Danger:** 1/5 · Very low Always observe from a distance and do not try to touch wild tarantulas. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How to identify Texas Brown Tarantula? Compare body proportions, leg shape, abdomen markings and the web, if there is one. Eye arrangement can be decisive but rarely shows up in a casual phone photo. A web is a supporting clue, not proof of who built it. Spider Identifier: upload a photo and compare the visible details. ### How big is Texas Brown Tarantula? 15 cm ### How much does Texas Brown Tarantula weigh? 40 g ### How long does Texas Brown Tarantula live? 25 years ### What does Texas Brown Tarantula eat? This fuzzy hunter loves to munch on crunchy insects and sometimes even tiny vertebrates! ### Where is Texas Brown Tarantula usually found? Grasslands, forests, and burrows in Texas ### How does Texas Brown Tarantula hunt? Ambush ### How many eggs does Texas Brown Tarantula lay? 750 ## Where to spot - [Monument Rocks](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/monument-rocks) — Kansas, US · Nature Reserve - [Quartz Mountain Nature Park](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/quartz-mountain-nature-park) — Oklahoma, US · Park - [Metropolitan Park Bathhouse and Pool Historic District](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/metropolitan-park-bathhouse-and-pool-historic-district) — New Mexico, US · Historic District - [Dickerson Park Zoo](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/dickerson-park-zoo) — Missouri, US · Zoo - [Bricktown](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/bricktown) — Oklahoma, US · Neighborhood - [Garvan Woodland Gardens](https://www.snappit.app/guides/places/garvan-woodland-gardens) — Arkansas, US · Botanical Garden [View all places to see Texas Brown Tarantula](https://www.snappit.app/guides/where-to-see/texas-brown-tarantula) ## More Invertebrate - [Coral](https://www.snappit.app/explore/coral) - [Crab Spider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/crab-spider) (*Mecaphesa asperata*) - [Garden Spider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/garden-spider) (*Araneus diadematus*) - [Brown Recluse Spider](https://www.snappit.app/explore/brown-recluse-spider) (*Loxosceles reclusa*) --- Source: [Texas Brown Tarantula: Facts & Places to See — Snappit](https://www.snappit.app/explore/texas-brown-tarantula)