Poecilotheria metallica
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Poecilotheria metallica , young male |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Poecilotheria metallica | ||||||||||||
| Pocock , 1899 |
Poecilotheria metallica , also known as the blue ornament tarantula , is an ornament tarantula and inhabits the dry forests of southeast India at an altitude of 500 to 1000 meters. The species is locally called "Aegul purgo", which means "blue spider".
Distribution / habitat
Location
The holotype was found in Gooty, South India, above the northwest line of the Madras Railways in a bungalow belonging to an engineer on the railway line. It is a female. Today no more Poecilotheria metallica are found in the Gooty area , either because the habitat has been heavily deforested or because the holotype was brought to this place by the transport of firewood. For a long time it was therefore puzzled whether the species described by Reginald Innes Pocock was possibly extinct. However, a few years ago the Englishman Andrew M. Smith and the Canadian Rick West rediscovered this species in another area and so it became certain that the species had survived.
habitat
Poecilotheria metallica is native to the dry forests of southeast India at an altitude of 500 to 1000 meters. Strong climatic fluctuations occur in the distribution area. Moderate temperatures and high humidity occur during the southwest monsoon. Dry heat occurs the rest of the year. The thermometer can reach 50 ° C during the period of rain-free premonition. In winter, on the other hand, temperatures are around 25 ° C. But it also stays dry at this time of the year.
The trees in these deciduous dry forests are not particularly tall, but they are large in diameter. Many grow to be between three and ten meters tall and up to 30 meters in diameter. In such trees, specimens of this species can be found just above the ground, as there is enough space for the dwelling caves.
The habitat overlaps with that of the species Poecilotheria formosa and Poecilotheria regalis .
features
Males and females hardly differ from one another in terms of coloration. This is unusual for ornamental tarantulas because most species have a relatively strong sexual dimorphism . Even a size difference between the sexes is not very pronounced in this species.
size
The females reach a body length of up to five or six centimeters (measured from the bite claws to the spinnerets). The males are smaller and reach a body length of four to five centimeters. This makes them the largest males of the genus ornamental tarantulas.
The holotype has a length of 52 mm. The carapace is 23.5 mm long and 20 mm wide. The buttons are 37 mm long. The first leg measures 65mm (from the base of the femur); the second 59 mm, the third 52 mm and the fourth 64 mm. The patella and tibia of the first running leg measure 25 mm together; that of the second 22 mm; that of the fourth 23 mm. The metatarsus of the fourth leg is 15 mm long.
Basic coloring
This species can be easily distinguished from the other ornamental tarantulas due to its color. The spider has a brown, gray to black basic color. This is covered by a metallic blue, which varies in strength depending on the light source. This blue metallic sheen is particularly easy to see after the moult and covers all parts of the body. In older animals and those shortly before molting, the luster is no longer very pronounced and can usually only be seen on the legs and buttons. Many young animals do not yet show any blue color and are then usually a uniform gray and sometimes black and have a metallic sheen.
drawing
The spiders have a white or yellowish, leaf-like spot on the upper side of the opisthosoma , which is accompanied on the left and right by a pattern, which in turn is reminiscent of the tiger stripes or the wasp pattern. A dark line runs through this spot in the middle, which in older females can often be interrupted or has disappeared except for a few sections. The underside is chocolate brown.
The spiders have a white spot on the carapace that is reminiscent of the shape of a violin. The sides of the spot are flanked with dark, almost black, stripes. From these bands the color changes to a lighter gray in the direction of the prosoma edges. The mound of the eye lies on a black spot that looks like black sunglasses.
The legs and buttons are getting darker and darker towards the outside. The tarsi have no points above. The metatarsi have a fine, gray-brown stripe. There are yellow dots on a line on the tibia. The underside of the first two legs is black-brown with a strong blue, metallic sheen. At the base, the tibia has a yellow-orange spot on the underside and inside. A runners can slightly extend to the top. The third and fourth pair of legs are less strongly colored metallic blue underneath and the yellow point on the tibia is less pronounced. The underside of the buttons is dark brown and has a weak metallic-blue sheen.
Way of life
The animals occur in low population densities. They can only be found about 100 meters apart. From the second nymph stage they move away from their mother and siblings and live alone. The spiders mostly hunt at night and are in their living tunnels during the day. They prey on tree-dwelling insects and reptiles that are near their web.
Many females and males molt at the beginning of the southwest monsoon. Some males then have their mature molt and are able to mate. The mating then takes place during the rainy season and is usually very peaceful. Only in winter do the females build cocoons that contain around 100 to 150 eggs. In February the larvae hatch and are already showing cannibalistic behavior. In the months of April and May (during premonsun) the larvae become nymphs. They stay with the mother until around the beginning of the monsoons in June or July. During this time the nymphs find enough food and can therefore grow quickly.
Terrarium keeping
Because of their beautiful appearance, the animals are increasingly kept in terrariums and occasionally offered in pet shops. Since they are very popular, individual copies are relatively expensive. Although breeding is not very easy, offspring of this species have been successful in captivity.
Web link
Poecilotheria metallica in the World Spider Catalog Poecilotheria metallica in the Red List of Endangered Species of the IUCN 2013.2. Posted by: Molur, S., Daniel, BA & Siliwal, M., 2008. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Krehenwinkel; Maerklin; Kroes: Ornamental bird spiders - The genus Poecilotheria Herpeton, Offenbach 2008, ISBN 3-936180-27-X , pp. 119–126
- ↑ a b c d e Reginald Innes Pocock: The genus Poecilotheria: its habits, history and species. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 7th series, 3, pp. 82-96, 1899