• 22 parts
  • Checked September 2026

Body Parts of a Tarantula

A tarantula from above, from underneath, then one leg up close.

Body Parts of a Tarantula

Name Date

Tap any part to read, rename or leave it out

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Carapace
  2. Fovea
  3. Eyes
  4. Chelicerae
  5. Pedipalps
  6. Abdomen
  7. Urticating hairs
  8. Spinnerets
  9. Fangs
  10. Labium
  11. Sternum
  12. Book lungs
  13. Epigastric furrow
  14. Coxa
  15. Trochanter
  16. Femur
  17. Patella
  18. Tibia
  19. Metatarsus
  20. Tarsus
  21. Claws
  22. Scopula

Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: a spider in ten parts

All 22 parts on the diagram

Show the list

From above 8

  1. Carapace The hard plate on top of the front body section, the cephalothorax.
  2. Fovea A pit or groove in the center of the carapace. Inside the body, stomach muscles are attached there.
  3. Eyes Small eyes on a low mound, usually in two rows of four. Most tarantulas see little more than light, dark and movement.
  4. Chelicerae The two jaws in front of the mouth. The venom glands are inside them and each one ends in a fang.
  5. Pedipalps Two six-segmented, leg-like limbs, one on each side of the chelicerae. They are not walking legs.
  6. Abdomen The rear body section, also called the opisthosoma. A thin waist joins it to the front section.
  7. Urticating hairs Barbed hairs that irritate skin and eyes. Most American tarantulas kick them off the abdomen with their back legs; tarantulas from Asia and Africa have none.
  8. Spinnerets Flexible tubes at the end of the abdomen that let out silk. A tarantula has two or four.

From underneath 5

  1. Fangs The fangs are hollow and inject venom. They point downward and fold back against the chelicerae like the blade of a pocket knife.
  2. Labium A small hard plate at the front of the sternum. It sits between the pedipalp bases and is sometimes called the lower lip.
  3. Sternum The plate under the front body section. It fills the space between the two rows of legs.
  4. Book lungs Breathing organs under the abdomen. A tarantula has two pairs, one behind the other, and air enters each through a narrow slit.
  5. Epigastric furrow A fold under the abdomen, between the two pairs of book lungs. The first pair opens at its ends.

One leg 9

  1. Coxa The first leg segment. The coxae of the eight legs sit round the edge of the sternum.
  2. Trochanter The second leg segment, a short link between the coxa and femur.
  3. Femur The third leg segment, the long one between the trochanter and patella.
  4. Patella The fourth segment, the short knee between the femur and the tibia.
  5. Tibia The fifth leg segment, between the patella and the metatarsus.
  6. Metatarsus The sixth leg segment. The pedipalps have no metatarsus, which is why they have six segments and the legs have seven.
  7. Tarsus The seventh and last leg segment. The claws are at its tip.
  8. Claws Small claws at the tarsus tip. The tarantula uses them to grip when it climbs.
  9. Scopula A dense brush of hairs under the tarsus and metatarsus. It helps the tarantula grip smooth surfaces.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 in at least two of these: Wikipedia (Tarantula, Spider anatomy, Glossary of spider terms), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarantula; J. H. Comstock, The Spider Book (1912), chapter on external anatomy, https://archive.org/details/thespiderbook00coms; Hamilton, Hendrixson and Bond (2016), ZooKeys 560, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4768370/; Perafan and others (2016), ZooKeys 601; Hamilton and others (2011), PLoS ONE 6(10); San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and Texas A&M AgriLife tarantula pages. The sources list says which source gave what. Detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

These are the parts of a tarantula in three drawings: from above, from underneath, and one leg from the side. Read each name, then name the parts yourself.

Read the full guide

Three drawings, from the back to the feet

Numbers 1 to 8 are on the tarantula from above: the carapace with its eyes and fovea, the jaws and pedipalps in front, and the abdomen with its urticating hairs and spinnerets. Numbers 9 to 13 are underneath: the fangs, the labium and sternum, the book lungs and the furrow across the abdomen. Numbers 14 to 22 run down one leg, from the body to the claws.

  • Count the leg segments from the body out: coxa, trochanter, femur, patella, tibia, metatarsus, tarsus.
  • The pedipalps look like a fifth pair of legs but have six segments, not seven.

Questions and answers

How many body parts does a tarantula have?

Two main sections: the cephalothorax at the front, covered by the carapace, and the abdomen behind, joined by a thin waist. The eight legs, the two pedipalps and the two chelicerae are all attached to the front section.

What are urticating hairs on a tarantula?

Barbed hairs on the abdomen of most American tarantulas. The tarantula kicks them off with its back legs when it is disturbed, and they irritate skin and eyes. Asian and African tarantulas lack them.

Where are a tarantula's fangs?

At the ends of the two chelicerae, the jaws at the front. The fangs point downward and fold back under the jaws like a pocket knife blade. In most other spiders the fangs point toward each other.

How does a tarantula breathe?

Through two pairs of book lungs under the abdomen. Air enters each one through a narrow slit. Most other spiders have only one pair.

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