Spiders of a Feather
What makes this photo particularly awful (as if a spider killing a hen weren't enough) are the chickens in the background going about their day. Maybe they're even happy that the gray chicken got taken out. What bigoted featherists!Photo courtesy: Althouse
What part of the world is that picture from? I'm trying to ID the spider.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it killed the hen, but I don't doubt it's eating it.
Don't ruin the story Jade! A chicken-killing spider is much more exciting than a a non-chicken-killing spider.
ReplyDeleteAs to where it's from? I don't know, but I can see from the photo that it is some place that has both chickens and spiders. Does that help narrow it down?
Haha! That's so helpful! :)
ReplyDeleteI'd place a bet that it's an Aphonopelma seemani, placing it in Costa Rica or surrounding areas. Seemani are sold in the pet trade as Stripe Knees. They're a tad skittish, but a fairly gentle.
You can pretend that they kill chickens if you want, though. ;) hehe.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/spiderman.shtml
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to thank you in advance for the nightmares I'll have tonight after seeing this. :oP
ReplyDeletetony- That link is innaccurate. The pictures of all the babies is a photoshop that's been passed around the tarantula forums I visit for years now. I wouldn't believe anything on it.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, the Danish name for tarantulas translates into "bird-spiders", for obvious reasons.
ReplyDeleteIn fact this spider is even not especially big at all. I´ve seen many ones in zoos and collections which were much bigger. If you look close at it, you see that the body of the spider is only about the size of the chicken´s head, what´s really not monstrous, especially if you keep in mind that chicken breeds in tropic regions are often comparably small.
ReplyDeleteHee, I so want to show that picture to all the spider-phobes I know.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Jade too. Even much larger tarantulas only kill prey much smaller than that. Still, it was a wonderfully graphic idea. ;)
"We avoid the simply tragic, diseased, or maimed." :( Poor chicken.
ReplyDelete"Oh, no, Mr. Frodo!"
ReplyDeleteLOL - bats, THAT'S funny!
ReplyDeleteThis illustrates how immensely dumb/uncompassionate/evil chickens are. Anyone who's been around them can tell you. Probably, the other chickens bumped this one off, and the spider is just a scape goat.
ReplyDelete