Hundreds of adorable baby spiders have hatched at Chester Zoo, in a world first for the rare breed of tarantula.
A clutch of 200 spider babies hatched successfully at the zoo.
The invertebrate keepers at the zoo are the first in the world to successfully breed the Montserrat tarantulas,.
They are hoping to discover more about the mysterious species after the record hatch.
Dr Gerardo Garcia, curator of lower vertebrates and invertebrates at Chester Zoo, said: “Breeding these tarantulas is a huge achievement for the team as very little is known about them. It’s taken a lot of patience and care to reach this point.
“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.
“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.”
Very little is known about the spiders, who are native to the Caribbean island of Montserrat.
[Source: The Telegraph]
