Researchers from the
Entomology Museum at Khon Kaen University and the Natural History Museum of the
National Science Museum said in an announcement that the spider will be
scientifically known as Chilobrachys natanicharum.
They noted the new
tarantula species’ blue-violet hue “resembling the color of electrical sparks.”
“The blue coloration in
animals is a fascinating and relatively rare phenomenon in nature.” The
scientists said.
“ Blue color in
tarantulas is a unique instance of structural colors that evolved independently
at least eight times.”
The arachnid’s legs and
body are covered with blue-purple hair; the coloring on the legs is
particularly “unique” and “iridescent.”
It appears that the
bright blue color is more pronounced in male spiders than in females whose hair
is more “violet than metallic-blue.”
The spiders live within
the country’s southern mangrove forests, hidden inside hollow trees, but may
also be found in evergreen forests.
Thailand authorities consider all tarantulas as
controlled wildlife but hunting and forest destruction has considerably
impacted the species.