''Ephebopus uatuman'' also known as the Emerald Skeleton Tarantula is a tarantula native to Brazil. It was first described by Lucas, Silva and Bertani in 1992. It is named after the Uatuman River.

Description

Females of this species live for up to 15 years, while males live 2 to 4 years. They grow to be about 10cm in size, although their namesake emerald color is usually not apparent. As it's usually only seen after molts. The

carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), 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 tor ...

and legs are usually a dark amber color, with the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

of the same color, but with long reddish hairs. There is also yellow banding between the

femora The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with t ...

and

patella The patella, also known as the kneecap, is a flat, rounded triangular bone which articulates with the femur (thigh bone) and covers and protects the anterior articular surface of the knee joint. The patella is found in many tetrapods, such as m ...

of all legs.

Identification

They can be confused with E. cyanognathus, but they can be distinguished, as this species lacks the iconic blue chelicerae of the Blue Fang Tarantula. And they can be distinguished from all other by the coloration in females, and the shape of the genitalia of both sexes.

Distribution

They are found all throughout the Amazonean Region of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, where it remains quite hot and tropical. Usually maintaining a temperature of 27C, although there is a bit of variance between the months. It also maintains an incredibly high level of humidity, usually maintaining a humidity of over 80%.

Behavior

They are quite skittish, but surprisingly defensive, receiving a bite from this species is not as rare as with most new world tarantulas. They are a burrowing species, that they will usually stay in. They usually make a burrow in the shape of a tub, which is usually covered in leaf litter. Quite similar to those of the E. cyanognathus. The entrance and the leaves where bound together with leaves, and the burrow ended in a chamber which was about 20-40cm deep.

References

Theraphosidae Spiders of Brazil Spiders described in 1992 {{Theraphosidae-stub