Researchers spot rare tarantula in Villupuram, Tamil Nadu
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Researchers have spotted a rare tarantula (a type of spider) for the first time beyond its known habitat in the Eastern Ghats, Andhra Pradesh.
- The tarantula is known as the peacock parachute spider or Gooty tarantula.
- Researchers from the Indigenous Biodiversity Foundation (IBF) spotted it in the Pakkamalai Reserve Forests in Villupuram district, Tamil Nadu.
- Before this new sighting, scientists had believed that the Gooty tarantula lived only in a reserve forest in the Eastern Ghats in Andhra Pradesh.
Eastern Ghats
The Gooty tarantula
- Reginald Innes Pocock spotted the first one in Gooty, Andhra Pradesh in 1899.
- The Gooty tarantula is blue in colour and its bite is venomous (poisonous).
- The females can live up for about 12 years and the males for 3 – 4 years.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has categorised the Gooty Tarantula as Critically Endangered*.
Tarantulas are biological pest controllers. However, people often sell them illegally as pets. So, we have to protect them.
*Critically Endangered: animals or plants that may soon not exist because there are very few now alive
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