Selenocosmia stirlingi

Selenocosmia stirlingi is a species of spider with the common name barking spider. The barking spider is a desert species with special adaptations to survive harsh weather conditions. It is a hairy tarantula and, like all spiders, they have two body segments, eight legs and two palps for sensing and feeling their prey.

Barking spider
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Family: Theraphosidae
Genus: Selenocosmia
Species:
S. stirlingi
Binomial name
Selenocosmia stirlingi
Hogg, 1901

Taxonomy and naming

The barking spider gets its name from the low growling it produces by rubbing its palps together. This is done to scare off predators.

Habitat

Display in the Australian Museum

Barking spiders live in the Australian desert and are ambush predators from burrows placed among leaf litter.

Prey

Barking spiders wait in their burrows for insects, lizards or frogs to come near the entrance before grasping and injecting venom into them.

Predators

As it is a small animal, the barking spider has quite a lot of predators even in the desert. Some of these include owls, dingoes and feral cats.

Adaptations

The barking spider depends on special adaptations to survive in its natural habitat. They have a gill-like lung that requires humidity and strong claws that enables them to dig burrows and stay cool. Barking spiders also have bushy feet with some secreted oil which produces a suction-cup ability, which allows them to easily climb up steep rocks in the desert.

References

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