''Ephebopus cyanognathus'', known as the blue fang tarantula, is a species of

tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,100 species have been identified, with 166 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

(family Theraphosidae). It is endemic to

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

.West, R. C. & S. D. Marshall. (2000) Description of two new species of ''Ephebopus'' Simon, 1892 (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Aviculariinae)., ''Arthropoda'' 8(2): 6-14. It was first described by Rick C. West and Samuel D Marshall in 2000, and is somewhat commonly kept as pets. As it common name may suggest, they have magnificent blue

chelicerae The chelicerae () are the arthropod mouthparts, mouthparts of the subphylum Chelicerata, an arthropod group that includes arachnids, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. Commonly referred to as "jaws", chelicerae may be shaped as either articulated ...

, cyano meaning blue and gnathus meaning jaw. This tarantula is a burrowing spider, though spiderlings of this species have been observed to be semi-arboreal.

Description

This

looks a lot like the ''

Ephebopus uatuman ''Ephebopus'' is a genus of northeastern South American tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1892. Its relation to other tarantulas is one of the most uncertain in the family, and it has been frequently moved around and ha ...

, with the main distinguishing feature being the blue

, though these are lacking in adult males. Adult males are instead a purplish color, and can be distinguished by their

palpal bulb The two palpal bulbs – also known as palpal organs and genital bulbs – are the copulatory organs of a male spider. They are borne on the last segment of the pedipalps (the front "limbs" of a spider), giving the spider an appearance often descr ...

. This

has bright golden rings on its legs and

pedipalp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the secondary pair of forward appendages among Chelicerata, chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to ...

s, which are evident at segments. In adults, the

carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the unde ...

is brown in color with some areas showing a greenish hue. Its

opisthosoma The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma ( cephalothorax). It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata (arachnids, horseshoe crabs and others). Although it is similar in most respects ...

is mainly dark brown with a greenish stripe in the center. Juveniles and spiderlings (slings) have legs that are pinkish to the metatarsus, which is purple in color. The

is completely brown in slings, with juveniles having some greenish coloration developing between the brown. While a sling, the

is green with a thick yellow line in the center. Juveniles also have this yellow line, though its duller, and the

is a greenish-brown.

Habitat

These

s are found all over

, from Trésor Reserve all the way to Saül. The Trésor Reserve receives an annual average of about 4 m of rain because of the

trade winds The trade winds or easterlies are permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere ...

, which are loaded with humidity from the ocean, a minimum temperature of 23 °C, and very high humidity.

Behavior

This

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

is mainly

fossorial A fossorial animal () is one that is adapted to digging and which lives primarily (but not solely) underground. Examples of fossorial vertebrates are Mole (animal), moles, badgers, naked mole-rats, meerkats, armadillos, wombats, and mole salamand ...

, but juveniles have been observed to oddly be semi arboreal. When they are young they are known to be defensive, and very nervous, but this gets better with age. When provoked this

will first try to flee, but under persistent provocation it will throw hairs or bite. This

will make burrows, though not as deep as other

s, making the entrance stronger with whatever they may find, popping of a few centimeters of the surface.

References

Theraphosidae Spiders described in 2000 Spiders of South America Taxa named by Rick C. West {{Theraphosidae-stub