''Selenogyrus caeruleus'' is a species of
tarantula
Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...
(family Theraphosidae, subfamily
[Smith, A. M. (1990). ''Baboon spiders: Tarantulas of Africa and the Middle East''. Fitzgerald Publishing, London, pp. 1-142]) native to
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
.
[
]
Characteristics
''Selenogyrus caeruleus'' has characteristic colouration; grey brown with metallic blue reflections. The Arthropod mouthpart#Labium, labio- sternum mounds are weakly defined and the stridulating organ on the inner side of the chelicerae is present and formed of long clavate (scimitar
A scimitar ( or ) is a single-edged sword with a convex curved blade associated with Middle Eastern, South Asian, or North African cultures. A European term, ''scimitar'' does not refer to one specific sword type, but an assortment of different ...
shaped) seta
In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms.
Animal setae
Protostomes
Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...
e. The tarsal scopulae
Scopulae, or scopula pads, are dense tufts of hair at the end of a spiders's legs. They are found mostly on hunting spiders, especially Lycosidae and Salticidae. Scopulae consist of microscopic hairs, known as setae, which are each covered in even ...
are separated by a band of setae. It is 44 mm long. Metatarsal and tarsal segments of legs
A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element ...
3 and 4 are heavily spined. The female's spermatheca
The spermatheca (pronounced plural: spermathecae ), also called receptaculum seminis (plural: receptacula seminis), is an organ of the female reproductive tract in insects, e.g. ants, bees, some molluscs, oligochaeta worms and certain other ...
e are stouter at the base than '' S. austini''.[
]
References
Theraphosidae
Spiders described in 1897
Spiders of Africa
{{Theraphosidae-stub