An electric blue Tarantula species has been discovered scurrying around the forests of Thailand. The huge creepy crawly was found by a group of Thai researchers during an expedition to Phang-Nga province in southern Thailand to research the diversity and distribution of tarantulas in the country. YouTuber JoCho Sippawat was also part of the expedition.
The researchers have named the spider Chilobrachys natanicharum and it was found in a mangrove forest. The study detailing the discovery was published in the research journal ZooKeys on September 18.
"(We found) a new species of tarantula that exhibits a mesmerizing blue-violet hue, reminiscent of electric blue sparks," Narin Chomphuphuang, a researcher at Khon Kaen University's Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, told CNN
According to the study, the spider had been known for some time in the exotic spider trade, where it was referred to as the Electric Blue Tarantula. Several shops claim to be selling them, for up to hundreds of dollars.
"Blue is one of the rarest colours to appear in nature, which makes blue colouration in animals particularly fascinating," a Thai team led by arachnologist Narin Chomphuphuang of Khon Kaen University said.
"To appear blue, an object needs to absorb very small amounts of energy while reflecting high-energy blue light," which is challenging, he explained.
"These tarantulas inhabit hollow trees, and the difficulty of catching an electric-blue tarantula lies in the need to climb a tree and lure it out of a complex of hollows amid humid and slippery conditions. During our expedition, we walked in the evening and at night during low tide, managing to collect only two of them," he added.
Blue can be found in animals, primarily in birds, fish and insects such as butterflies. The blue colouration of tarantula is not the result of pigment, they are produced by structural colouring. This is when tiny, nanoscopic structures reflect the light in such a way that it shimmers blue and violet, the ScienceAlert report explained.
The study said that blue colour in tarantulas is a unique instance of structural colours that evolved independently at least eight times, and tarantulas display less iridescence and maintain highly conserved reflectance in a specific narrow band of wavelengths, setting them apart from birds and insects.
"The electric blue tarantula demonstrates remarkable adaptability. These tarantulas can thrive in arboreal as well as terrestrial burrows in evergreen forests. However, when it comes to mangrove forests, their habitat is restricted to residing inside tree hollows due to the influence of tides," Chomphuphuang says.
"It's essential for the general public to understand the significance of taxonomy as a fundamental aspect of research. Taxonomy serves a vital role, ranging from the basic, such as when people inquire on social media about the name of a spider, to conducting crucial research aimed at preserving these species from extinction."
