Arachnophobia? Look away!

Snape at the Blue Reef Aquarium... 

Welcome to “Snape”, a 6 month-old Chilean Rose Tarantula, the newest addition to the Aquarium's Jungle Room display, which features exotic reptiles, insects and spiders from around the world. Snape is being named by staff in honour of the Harry Potter character played by the late star, Alan Rickman.  

The Chilean Rose originates in the deserts of Chile, as the name on the label suggests, and is a colourful spider with a leg span of around 15 centimetres. Its colour ranges from grey, to pink, to a reddish brown colour. Males live for about five years, whilst the female of the species can live for up to 20 years or more!  

The Aquarium’s Leanna Lawson said that “The Chilean Rose is one of the most colourful and impressive of the tarantulas and they thought it was the perfect name for such a spectacular spider.”  

There are approximately 900 different species of tarantula identified so far, and, despite their threatening reputation and size, no tarantula has been known to have a bite that is deadly to humans, though some bites may cause serious discomfort that might persist for several days (website).  

Many thanks to the Aquarium for sharing this information, I feel relieved!