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Sticker of Colombian dwarf tiger tarantula
Bug card No. 0966 of 4,939

Colombian dwarf tiger tarantula

Cyriocosmus leetzi
Eats: Other bugs and small animalsSpidersRainforests and jungles8 legsNot an insect, but a bug cousin

The Colombian dwarf tiger tarantula is a small tarantula from the rainforests of Colombia. Its back end is reddish orange with eight black stripes that spread out from the middle like a little sun. Its legs are black or grey with soft grey hairs.

Fun fact: spiders are not insects. Insects have six legs, spiders have eight. Everyone calls them bugs anyway!
Lives in
Colombia and maybe Venezuela, in humid rainforest
Top speed
about 1.5 km/h (0.93 mph)
On foot, estimate
What does it eat?
Like other tarantulas, it catches insects and other small creatures.
For real!Photo of Colombian dwarf tiger tarantula
Picture by Sarha Bernal. CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Females can live 5 to 7 years, but males only live 2 to 3 years.

2

It spins lots of silk and can build tricky tunnels.

3

When it gets scared, it runs to its hiding place instead of flicking hairs like many other tarantulas.

4

It lives in a rainforest where it is warm, about 25 degrees, and it rains a lot.

you asked

Most asked questions about Colombian dwarf tiger tarantula

?How long does the Colombian dwarf tiger tarantula live?

Females live 5 to 7 years. Males live 2 to 3 years.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Cyriocosmus leetzi
Named by
Vol, 1999
Group
Spiders
Family
Theraphosidae
Classification
Arachnida > Araneae > Theraphosidae
Lives on
South America
Also known as
Colombian dwarf tiger, Venezuelan dwarf beauty tarantula

Where the facts come from

  1. Cyriocosmus leetzi (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Sarha Bernal. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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More from the same group: Spiders

Also at home here: Rainforests and jungles

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