First Tarantula Exhibition in Penang

Last night was the eve of the Malaysian Independence Day countdown
( 30-08-09 ). We ( members of the Malaysian Tarantula Society - Penang Chapter ) held a TARANTULA EXHIBITION at a new shopping complex - The Penang Times Square. It was very successful. We were very happy because we were able to show and educate a very, very big crowd ( around 5000 visitors ) with regards to tarantulas. For most of the spectators, it was the very first time that they have actually seen a live tarantula. Some were given the opportunity to handle some very docile ones. Some felt that the Ts were repulsive at first but on seeing others handling them, they ventured nearer to have a closer look. They say a picture is worth a thousand words: I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

Liphitius desultor

Still on the subject of Liphistius desultor. Today I'm going to open the "door" of Liphistius desultor.

Photo 1 shows the "trapdoor" as it is in the wild.

I'm opening the door very delicately.

There!!! Welcome to my world!

The burrow is a horizontal shaft that goes in and sometimes it makes an L-turn and can be as deep as 20 inches or more. It is very smooth as there's a layer of fine web covering it all the way.

Liphitius desultor

I have always been very fascinated by the Trapdoor Spider - Liphistius desultor. It is very different from all other spiders, including tarantulas. It makes very little webbing and it is seldom seen outside its trapdoor. It has very intense colouring and many times after I've posted some photos, I've been asked whether its real or it's just a plastic toy. I'm very lucky to be able to see it in its natural surroundings. Here are some photos that show their burrows in nature. The burrows are always closed by the "trapdoor".

The one thing that is common to all the photos shown above are the "trip lines" radiating outwards from the doors. These are sensors that allow the spider to feel when something ( eg. an insect ) walks over them.

Now for some photos of the actual spider.

The MALE is differently coloured. It is almost totally black. At first I thought I have found something new but upon closer examination it was found to be a male specimen.

Tarantula Room

Some of our very large tarantulas are kept here.

We have some very large Asian Forest Scorpion in the containers in the top row.
The middle section houses the Trapdoors. The bottom row houses the Chilobrachys sp.

Extremely large tarantulas and snakes are kept here.

And here's another view ( photo below ). The blue labels are the Cobalt Blue Tarantula, the pink labels are the Chilobrachys sp. and the lower plastic aquaria contain the Asian Forest Scorpions.

Orange Baboon Tarantula

Here's a photo of one of my OBTs.

Here's another one.

This photo (above) shows a general view of a part of my Tarantula Room.
The containers with the yellow labels on the right and the red baskets below
them house my Orange Baboon Taratulas. The red baskets are 4 levels high.

A closer look at the OBT containers.

Warning!!!! Do not come any nearer. ( A typical "threat pose" of an OBT).