I was watching my S. crassipes Australian tarantula the other night stalking a cricket some 5 cm away from it. It sat motionless for a long time and then seemed to teleport to just outside its burrow with the cricket. The conduction of nerve impulses in the brain is 50 - 60 m / s, so if you can't see a spider move then I presume that its speed must be in this kind of ball-park!
This means that when striking, a tarantula can move at 216 km per hour! This would be roughly equivalent to a human sprinting at 1580 km / hour!
I suppose proper measurements of tarantula speeds must have been made, but if they are in this ball park,it is truly incredible. No wonder spiders have survived for so many millions of years!
This means that when striking, a tarantula can move at 216 km per hour! This would be roughly equivalent to a human sprinting at 1580 km / hour!
I suppose proper measurements of tarantula speeds must have been made, but if they are in this ball park,it is truly incredible. No wonder spiders have survived for so many millions of years!
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