Minden Pictures

Tarantulas (46) More files... by Dr. Mark W. Moffett

A frog's legs extending from its mandibles, a tarantula illustrates its role as a major predator of small animals of the rainforest canopy. Upon the advance of Amazonian floodwaters, a tarantula skitters across the water's surface in search of a new home. Thrashing back and forth, a spider sheds its skin - a perfect replica of itself - to reveal the soft new excoskeleton beneath. Dr. Mark W. Moffett brings us deep into the Amazonian rainforest to exorcise our distates of the much maligned tarantula by exposing the animal's beauty along with its harmless and timid nature.

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Peruvian Pinktoe Tarantula (Avicularia urticans) walking on water after being flooded from its nest, Amazonian ecosystem, Peru - Mark Moffett

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00122426 Peruvian Pinktoe Tarantula (Avicularia urticans) walking on water after being flooded from its nest, Amazonian ecosystem, Peru© Mark Moffett

Peruvian Pinktoe Tarantula (Avicularia urticans) flooded from nest by annual 20-30 rise of the Amazon River caused by runoff from the Andes, Peru - Mark Moffett

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00115792 Peruvian Pinktoe Tarantula (Avicularia urticans) flooded from nest by annual 20-30 rise of the Amazon River caused by runoff from the Andes, Peru© Mark Moffett

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00115788 Peruvian Pinktoe Tarantula (Avicularia urticans) flooded from nest by annual 20-30 rise of the Amazon River caused by runoff from the Andes, Peru© Mark Moffett

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00115717 Tarantula (Theraphosidae) in defensive posture, Trinidad© Mark Moffett

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00115719 Unidentified juvenile Tarantula, Rio Mormon, Peru© Mark Moffett

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00115739 Tarantula (Dryptopelma sp) portrait, Rio Momon, Peru© Mark Moffett

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00115743 Tarantula (Megaphobema sp) portrait, Rio Momon, Peru© Mark Moffett

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00115731 Tarantula (Avicularia sp) juvenile, Rio Momon, Peru© Mark Moffett

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00115732 Metallic White-toed Tarantula (Avicularia metallica) in thatched roof, Venezuela© Mark Moffett

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00025678 Ecuadorian Brown Velvet Tarantula (Megaphobema velvetosoma) shedding its skin, Ecuador© Mark Moffett

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00115923 Ecuadorian Brown Velvet Tarantula (Megaphobema velvetosoma) shedding its skin (cuticle), Ecuador© Mark Moffett

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00115887 Ecuadorian Brown Velvet Tarantula (Megaphobema velvetosoma) shedding its skin (cuticle), Ecuador© Mark Moffett

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00115929 Yellow-kneed Tarantula (Selenocosmia javanensis) interior of shed skin showing holes from legs, Java© Mark Moffett

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00115928 Ecuadorian Brown Velvet Tarantula (Megaphobema velvetosoma) shedding its skin (cuticle), Ecuador© Mark Moffett

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00115776 Tarantula (Theraphosidae) entering nest, Peru© Mark Moffett

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00115728 Tarantula (Theraphosidae) in burrow, Bolivar, Venezuela© Mark Moffett

Tarantula (Aphonopelma sp) female emerges from nest to face male who has attracted her attention by tearing the silk membranes at nest entrance, Northern Arizona - Mark Moffett

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00115802 Tarantula (Aphonopelma sp) female emerges from nest to face male who has attracted her attention by tearing the silk membranes at nest entrance, Northern Arizona© Mark Moffett

Tarantula (Aphonopelma sp) male strokes membranes of silk at entrance of female's nest She senses vibrations and comes out to mate, Northern Arizona - Mark Moffett

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00115619 Tarantula (Aphonopelma sp) male strokes membranes of silk at entrance of female's nest She senses vibrations and comes out to mate, Northern Arizona© Mark Moffett

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00115786 Tarantula (Aphonopelma sp) female emerges from nest to face male who has attracted her attention by tearing the silk membranes at nest entrance, Northern Arizona© Mark Moffett

Nevada Blackfoot Tarantula (Aphonopelma iodium) male secures the female's fangs and bends her backwards pushing his sperm-filled palps into her reproductive slit, northern Arizona - Mark Moffett

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00115787 Nevada Blackfoot Tarantula (Aphonopelma iodium) male secures the female's fangs and bends her backwards pushing his sperm-filled palps into her reproductive slit, northern Arizona© Mark Moffett

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00115861 Tarantula (Megaphobema sp) female holding egg sac, Iquitos, Peru© Mark Moffett

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00115805 Tarantula (Megaphobema sp) female holding egg sac, Iquitos, Peru© Mark Moffett

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00040467 Cave Tarantula with egg sac, Mexico© Mark Moffett

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00115907 Tarantula (Megaphobema sp) touching a Giant Katydid which draws back as its wings open in a startle display, Rio Momon, Peru© Mark Moffett

Green and Black Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates auratus) meets a Tarantula, Taboga Island, Panama Tarantulas eat frogs but avoid Poison Dart Frogs, yet on Taboga, such encounters are common and Tarantul... - Mark Moffett

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00109005 Green and Black Poison Dart Frog (Dendrobates auratus) meets a Tarantula, Taboga Island, Panama Tarantulas eat frogs but avoid Poison Dart Frogs, yet on Taboga, such encounters are common and Tarantul...© Mark Moffett

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00115804 Peruvian Pinktoe Tarantula (Avicularia urticans) eating tree frog, Amazon, Peru© Mark Moffett

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00750701 Tarantula (Theraphosidae) with prey, Rio Momon, Peru© Mark Moffett

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00115709 Tarantula (Tapinauchenius latipes) eating an Anoles Lizard, Rio Mormon, Peru© Mark Moffett

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00115874 Tarantula (Avicularia sp) feeding on a bat, Rio Yarapa, Peru© Mark Moffett

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00115810 Tarantula (Avicularia sp) feeding on a bat, Rio Yarapa, Peru© Mark Moffett

Tarantula (Pseudotheraphosa sp) surrounded by a cloud of barbed toxic hairs which it breaks off by brushing their abdomens with hind legs as a defensive move, Venezuela - Mark Moffett

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00115925 Tarantula (Pseudotheraphosa sp) surrounded by a cloud of barbed toxic hairs which it breaks off by brushing their abdomens with hind legs as a defensive move, Venezuela© Mark Moffett

Goliath Bird-eating Spider (Theraphosa blondi) with researcher's gloved hand showing defensive behavior where spider breaks off toxic hairs from abdomen with hind legs, French Guiana - Mark Moffett

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00115927 Goliath Bird-eating Spider (Theraphosa blondi) with researcher's gloved hand showing defensive behavior where spider breaks off toxic hairs from abdomen with hind legs, French Guiana© Mark Moffett

Cave Tarantula (Hemirrhagus reddelli) observed by Peter Sprouse, Oaxaca, Mexico - Mark Moffett

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Tarantula (Theraposidae) shown to Stanford professor and arachnophobia expert, C Barr Taylor, by Dr Gunnar Gotestam while a pet scanner records his fear response, Norway - Mark Moffett

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00115819 Tarantula (Theraposidae) shown to Stanford professor and arachnophobia expert, C Barr Taylor, by Dr Gunnar Gotestam while a pet scanner records his fear response, Norway© Mark Moffett

Stanford professor and arachnophobia expert, C Barr Taylor, working with patient to cure her acute arachnophobia, California - Mark Moffett

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00115820 Stanford professor and arachnophobia expert, C Barr Taylor, working with patient to cure her acute arachnophobia, California© Mark Moffett

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00115837 Scientist Tom Prentice milks venom from desert Tarantula for study, University of California at Riverside, California© Mark Moffett

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00115908 Mexican Blond Tarantula (Aphonopelma chalcodes) male prowls for females, Tucson Mountain Park, Arizona© Mark Moffett

Feather Leg Baboon Tarantula (Stromatopelma griseipes) tarsal pad with visible claws, Ivory Coast, Gulf of Guinea, West Africa - Mark Moffett

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00115714 Feather Leg Baboon Tarantula (Stromatopelma griseipes) tarsal pad with visible claws, Ivory Coast, Gulf of Guinea, West Africa© Mark Moffett

Feather Leg Baboon Tarantula (Stromatapelma griseipus) tarsal pad with visible claws, Ivory Coast, Gulf of Guinea, West Africa - Mark Moffett

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00115748 Feather Leg Baboon Tarantula (Stromatapelma griseipus) tarsal pad with visible claws, Ivory Coast, Gulf of Guinea, West Africa© Mark Moffett

Tarantula (Theraphosidae) male's palps, special mouthparts used for mating, Arizona - Mark Moffett

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Tarantula (Theraphosidae) underside with retracted fangs can be seen at top of frame, Chile - Mark Moffett

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Peruvian Pinktoe Tarantula (Avicularia urticans) tarsal pads help spiders walk on water, Peru - Mark Moffett

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00115915 Army Ant (Ection sp) group attacking prey species as large or larger than this Tarantula, Rio Yarapa, Peru© Mark Moffett

Tityus Scorpion eats baby Tarantula spider, Rio Momon, Peru - Mark Moffett

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Tarantula Hawk (Pepsis sp) a giant wasp, confronts Tarantula in a sequence where the spider is paralyzed and parasitized by wasp's eggs, Riverside, California - Mark Moffett

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00115924 Tarantula Hawk (Pepsis sp) a giant wasp, confronts Tarantula in a sequence where the spider is paralyzed and parasitized by wasp's eggs, Riverside, California© Mark Moffett

Mark Moffett, photographer portrait, holding a Tarantula (Theraposidae) while on assignment - Mark Moffett

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