This is another post about spiders that Sean McCann found and photographed on his recent trip to Guyana. 

When you think of tarantulas (mygalomorph spiders in the family Theraphosidae), the first thing that comes to mind is probably a huge hairy spider like the famous face-sized Goliath bird-eating spider.

Sean with a male goliath bird eating spider on his head in Guyana. Note: don’t try this at home. Photo: Jonathan Meiburg.

But not all tarantulas are large! Here is a tiny tarantula from the rainforest of Guyana.

To get a better idea of the size of this spider, here’s a shot of Sean’s traveling companion, Jonathan Meiburg, photographing the little beastie.

This tarantula is less than 2 cm long and likely not yet mature, but even full-sized it will be less than 3 cm long.

We suspect that this is a Neostenotarsus species, but there is not much information available about these tarantulas. What I have been able to find indicates that they are fairly well known in the pet trade, but information on their biology is lacking.

UPDATE: Thanks to Stuart Longhorn for informing us that this spider is most likely in the genus Catanduba, not Neostenotarsus (likewise for the images linked above).

The wee spider strikes a defensive pose.

The size and colour of this tarantula reminded Sean of a velvet ant when he first saw it.

What do you think? 

A velvet ant (actually a wingless wasp!) also found in Guyana.