Courtship and Mating Behavior of Grammostola Schulzei (Schmidt 1994) (Araneae, Theraphosidae), A Burrowing Tarantula from Argentina (Short Communication) (Report‪)‬

Few studies have been conducted on the reproductive behavior of tarantulas in general (Baerg 1958; Minch 1979), and the small amount of published literature that contains detailed behavioral descriptions (Shillington & Verrel 1997; Jackson & Pollard 1990) suggests that the traditional portrayal of mygalomorph display behavior as "simple" (Platnick 1971; Foelix 1996) is misleading. Moreover, an understanding of tarantula reproduction is necessary to facilitate captive breeding and to reduce pressures on wild populations caused mainly by human impact and pet commerce (Costa & Perez-Miles 2002). The South American genus Grammostola Simon 1892 (Bucherl 1951). includes large-sized species whose carapace length varies from 20-30 mm (Postiglioni & Costa 2006). The great density and diversity of specimens of Grammostola spp. in Argentina has led researchers to think that Argentina is the dispersion center of the genus. In Argentina, it has a different biotope than Brazilian species (Schiapelli & Gerschman 1960). Bucherl (1951) described the reproductive biology of several species of Grammostola but only for medical or systematic purposes. Recently, two allopatric species living in Uruguay have received a considerable amount of attention regarding their reproductive biology: Grammostola iheringi (Keyserling 1891), which has been reported only from neighboring areas of Quebrada de los Cuervos, and G. mollicoma (Ausserer 1875) which is widely distributed throughout the country (Perez-Miles & Costa 1992; Costa & Perez-Miles 2002; Postiglioni & Costa 2006). Grammostola schulzei (Schmidt 1994), is a burrowing species from Argentina whose males are much smaller than females (Males are 30 mm long) (Schmidt 2005). Bertani & Fukushima (2004) identified specimens from Cordillera de Los Andes (Argentina), Tandil (Buenos Aires, Argentina), and the species was also collected in Sierra de la Ventana (Buenos Aires, Argentina), where it lives in burrows made under stones in rocky hills (Ferretti & Ferrero 2006).