Tailless Whip Spider molt - UP CLOSE

Описание: Giant Tanzanian Tailless Whipspider (Damon diadema, Order: Amblypygi) molts.

Points of interest:
0:22 Like all spiders and scorpions, the whipspider molts by pushing out the carapace at the back. Here you see the beginnings of that process as the carapace separates along the seam. You can see the new eyes fall away from the lenses embedded in the old skin. The flexible new carapace is an opaque white in stark comparison to the dark coloration of a hardened carapace.

1:34 The yellow body fluids can be seen through the soft transparent skin as the whipspider sequentially undulates its limbs slowly working them free.

1:56 The fine hairs on the body and surrounding the mouth parts are red-orange at this stage, and the abdomen a beautiful blue-green.

2:41 Slowly the whipspider works the limbs closer to freedom, the long spines on the raptorial claws springing out in their rubbery state, finally to drop free.

3:10 My favorite part! With its limbs now free it flexes them in a creepy little dance of rebirth. Simultaneously, and more subtly, it begin a very unique process. The extremely long feelers cannot be extracted as the rest of the limbs had been, by using gravity to assist as the body's mass drops lower away from the old skin, so the whipspider uses its raptorial claws to delicately pull them, one then the other, until they are finally free.

4:43 Now completely free of the old skin it drops away.

4:57 Two hours later the carapace is an odd shade of pale blue as it slowly hardens. The back and abdomen is now an ever darkening green with the yellow innards showing through. But most interesting of all, fluids can be seen traveling along the lengths on the striped legs!

5:30 Finally the freshly molted whipspider is shown on my hand for size reference.

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Soundtrack by Precarious

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