About 200 miniature Montserrat tarantulas exploded from the ground after a successful impregnation of three females.
A terrifying event just went down at the Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom, but one that scientists are absolutely thrilled about: 200 baby Montserrat tarantulas burst from the ground after a successful impregnation of three females of the rare spiders that are found on just one island in the Caribbean. They were hatched after a tense and risky mating process, the first successful breeding of the spider in captivity.
Not much is known about the Montserrat tarantula, which is part of the reason why scientists are so keen to study it. A zookeeper brought them back from field trips there several years ago, and since then researchers have wanted to get them to reproduce. However, that’s easier said than done: males live just 2.5 years, and females live much longer and take longer to mature, so the males are not easy to come by, according to a statement from the zoo.
Making it even more difficult is the fact that it is very risky for the males to mate. There were tense moments as zoo staff was worried they’d be mistaken for prey. Fortunately, however, the impregnations appeared to be successful and the females disappeared in burrows underground — not even emerging to eat.
Months later, baby tarantulas started popping out all over the place, as you can see in the video below.
“The data we’ve been able to gather and knowledge we’ve developed over the last three years since the adults first arrived has led us to this first ever successful, recorded breeding and hopefully these tiny tarantulas will uncover more secrets about the behaviour, reproduction and life cycle of the species,” the statement from the zoo reads. “We know that males have a very short life span when compared with females and gauging their sexual maturity to select the best possible time to put them together for mating, is vital to the breeding process. It’s successes like this which really highlight the work that zoos are doing behind-the-scenes to conserve a range of endangered species, including the smaller, less known species that contribute to the world’s biodiversity. Importantly, the skills and techniques the team has developed with this new breeding success will now be transferred to other threatened species.”