Photos: Colorful Tarantulas Found

Several new species of tarantulas have been found in Brazil and in my opinion these are pretty much the coolest arachnids I have ever seen. To be be honest I used to be afraid of spiders but as I grew older I realized how useful they are, especially when it comes to killing off other bugs. In other words I prefer arachnids over insects but don't get me wrong as I am very well aware that all these creatures serve an important role in our eco-system. My main point of this thread was to show off these awesome pictures.

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

This one is tied with another as my favorite:

Seemingly spray-painted, this new tarantula, Typhochlaena costae, is one of nine colorful—and rare—tree-dwelling tarantulas recently discovered in Brazil, a new study says.

This one is my other favorite:

The pink-hued Typhochlaena amma is one of five recently discovered tarantula species belonging to the genus Typhochlaena. The newfound species are the smallest tree-dwelling tarantulas so far discovered, at only 2 to 3 centimeters (20 to 30 millimeters) long, Bertani said.

This one isn't as colorful as the others but it's still a beautiful creature:

This newfound tree-dwelling tarantula, Iridopelma katiae, was discovered on a Brazilian mesa that has rocky soil and few trees.

This furry lil bugger almost looks like those candies I ate as a kid, I wouldn't eat it though:

Looking more Brillo pad than arachnid, Pachistopelma bromelicola (pictured), is the second known species of tarantula to live exclusively inside bromeliad plants, of which some species attach themselves to trees and rocks.

Last but not least, this one looks the "meanest" out of the new specimens:

Most tree-dwelling tarantulas are found in Amazon, but the newfound tarantulas—including Iridopelma marcoi (pictured)—were unexpectedly discovered in the Brazilian savanna.

Please visit the link as it has a slide show of the pictures I provided with a more in depth explanation of each specimen. It also mentions how it is feared that the pet industry will probably target these colorful spiders.

Link

It shames me to think how many species we have wiped out before we even knew they existed. The deforestation of our planet for the greedy corporations is despicable in my opinion and it is unnecessary as many of these plants and animals could hold the key to the cure of various illnesses that plague us humans.

There is so much to discover and it always makes me happy when we find out more about our planet, there is so much we don't know about and I hope we can continue making discoveries like this and hopefully eventually realize our mistakes and end the destruction of our planet and it's many inhabitants, it's not just us humans who live here.

reply to post by Corruption Exposed


Beautiful, but I must say that you have completely destroyed any chance that once existed for me to get a good nights sleep tonight!

reply to post by littled16




Sorry about that...don't let the bed bugs bite!



I have been lucky to never have a bed bug infestation, but if I see a spider in my house I leave it be due to the fact that they help fight off other pests such as the dreaded bed bug.

Spiders are your friend

agreed, i could have gone with out knowing they existed...

spiders creep me the ef out. but cool looking pics.

I have an agreement with all the spiders in my house, "as long as you guys don't crawl on me you can stay!! But if I feel you on me, you will be crushed!!"

So far it's going good, only a few have broken the agreement !!! LOL

Beautiful animals...But I am the very definition of Arachnophobia. I have the upmost respect for the creatures, but you will not find me in the same vicinity, if one of these was found nearby.

reply to post by Dizrael


Spiders alone don't usually bother me, what really pisses me off is when I walk through a spider web. In my opinion there aren't many things more irritating then getting a face full of spider web! The feeling just creeps me out, but somehow I usually don't care if I find a spider crawling on or around me.

reply to post by Corruption Exposed


Awesome! Nature at its finest. Now I wonder what the colors are for, such as camouflage, attracting a mate, maybe just to look cool?

reply to post by Corruption Exposed


I agree. As long as they don't try to crawl on me the spiders and I have a "live and let live" agreement. My husband- not so much!

Wouldn't want one of those big hairy boogers in my personal space though- they're the stuff nightmares are made of!

Originally posted by Jason88
reply to post by Corruption Exposed

 

Awesome! Nature at its finest. Now I wonder what the colors are for, such as camouflage, attracting a mate, maybe just to look cool?

I haven't researched each specimen in detail yet but I believe it would most likely be for camouflage, but attraciting a mate is also a great theory. Depending on their toxicity to other animals, perhaps it is a friendly warning saying "don't eat me or you will die". From what I recall a lot of bright colored insects and arachnids are poisonous.

Normally I would be:

But those were pretty cool.

Tarantulas are the coolest!! We have some in our yard, and I am careful not to hurt them. My husband laughs at me when I call them sweet, but they are really shy and not aggressive at all. I have accidentally touched one, and even had one fall on me -- they don't bite -- I love them. I've thought about keeping one as a pet, but he would probably be happier outside.

Thanks for the pics -- those tarantulas are really beautiful.

I have a very odd relationship with arachnids. I find Tarantulas interesting and they don't creep me out. But the common house spider, or other skinny-legged spiders, really give me the creeps.

I think it has something to do with their speed, and the fact that Tarantulas look furry - and therefore more cuddly?

I've often wondered if specific fears like this can be traced back through family history. We know that fears of certain animals are there for a reason. Animals offer warnings in colouring to persuade predators not to risk attacking them, and it seems logical that this would be a genetic thing, unless birds tell their young to avoid the frogs with red on their backs? I don't think that's logical.

Some fears have to be passed down genetically in my opinion, and that might be related to what each of our ancestors experienced.

For instance, I'm not scared of snakes, but I am scared of spiders (common spiders). Does that mean more of my ancestors come from regions with deadly spiders, but with no deadly snakes?

These Tarantulas are definitely interesting, and I hope that more discoveries like this might be made before we wipe them all out with unrestrained logging and clearing for farmland to feed our processed meat addiction.

I actualy had a red knee turantual for a pet, she was a very gental spider, never bit me,and loved to explore my couch when I had her out. Many friends lost there fear of spiders because of her!!

I love watching the little jumping spiders in my yard and patio, they don't spin webs to get bugs, the stalk them like a cat!! And they have cool personalitys

I hate walking through webs though!! I have lots of orb weavers in my yard and some can grow very big!!

Originally posted by Corruption Exposed
reply to post by Dizrael

 

Spiders alone don't usually bother me, what really pisses me off is when I walk through a spider web. In my opinion there aren't many things more irritating then getting a face full of spider web! The feeling just creeps me out, but somehow I usually don't care if I find a spider crawling on or around me.

1. webs WITH spiders on your face
2. spiders on your face
3. webs on your face
4. getting dressed in the morning and watch a spider crawl out of your clothes...

other than that, if they keep to their side of the room, were good.

reply to post by kaylaluv


To be honest I envy the fact that you have tarantulas in your yard, I have never seen one in real life but have always been fascinated by them. Judging by what you listed as your location I wont ask where you live, but where I live in the great white north we have tons of spiders but tarantulas are not native to here.

This thread is honestly making me want to get one as a pet. As you said they would be happier outside but if there are some for sale in my area, I might as well give it a good home since I would feed it well and make sure to give it a kick ass habitat.

Anything classified as "Tree Dwelling" only serves one purpose. That purpose is to wait for you to look up and then slip and fall out of the tree onto YOUR FACE and start biting in a fit of rage..

When one drops, they all drop and you will be stuck there surrounded by all these damn legs scrambling over every inch of ground and you. Ohh GOD what do I do??

Well, the last time it happened, I ran screaming like a 12 year old girl, beiber fan.. That's sad considering I thought I was a pretty hard dude.

doesn't matter what anyone on ATS says.. That is the ultimate SHTF scenario.

Originally posted by snowen20
Anything classified as "Tree Dwelling" only serves one purpose. That purpose is to wait for you to look up and then slip and fall out of the tree onto YOUR FACE and start biting in a fit of rage..

When one drops, they all drop and you will be stuck there surrounded by all these damn legs scrambling over every inch of ground and you. Ohh GOD what do I do??

Well, the last time it happened, I ran screaming like a 12 year old girl, beiber fan.. That's sad considering I thought I was a pretty hard dude.

doesn't matter what anyone on ATS says.. That is the ultimate SHTF scenario.

Spiders jump on your face?

Dinner time.

reply to post by AdamsMurmur


Not only do they jump on your face, they insert some weird tube down your throat and lay eggs. Next thing you know you get some kind of crazy thing popping out of your chest ..No thanks,..no thanks...

I cant classify myself as having arachnophobia. I know my DEATH HELL fantasy would seem to prove otherwise. I have no problems with large spiders or tarantula. I moved to a south east Asian country and they have these huge huntsman spiders running all over.. Those bastards give me the willies.. But sometimes I can deal with them no problem.. I guess I have selective arachnophobia or maybe situational, if there even is such a thing.

reply to post by Corruption Exposed


Did some digging. The top spider shown, with the red spots (Typhochlaena costae), was discovered in Tocantins, Brazil near the borders of Maranhão and Piauí. Common predators of Brazilian tarantulas are weasels, hawks, owls, skunks, Spider-Wasps and snakes.

I'm guessing here since the Typhochlaena costae is a tree dweller that birds are likely its worst enemy so somehow those colors scare off birds.

Anyway, after reading up on the Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens (a really colorful, all-ready-studied tarantula) it's clear no one has any idea why these spiders posses such a range of colors. Best guess by researchers is to frighten away predators - as other animals do in the animal kingdom.

I didn't read anything about attracting at mate, so I assume researchers have a good handle on their mating practices.

Anyways, now I know more about something I'll likely never use.