''Chilobrachys dyscolus'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

in the

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) native to

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. It was first described by

Eugène Simon Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider taxonomist in history, describing over 4, ...

in 1886 as ''Phrictus dyscolus''.Simon E (1886) Arachnides recueillis par M. A. Pavie (sous chef du service des postes au Cambodge) dans le royaume de Siam, au Cambodge et en Cochinchine. ''Actes de la Société Linnéenne de Bordeaux'' 40: 137-166. It is known as the blue Vietnam tarantula, Asian blue smokey tarantula, Asian smokey earth tiger tarantula or Burma chocolate brown tarantula.

Description

While the species is usually a chocolate brown, grayish spider, after the molt it has a blue-black coloration all throughout the body. Under normal circumstances this tarantula is either a light brown or black all throughout the body. Although sometimes the front facing areas of the pedipalps and legs bright metallic blue color persist.

Behavior

This spider is defensive, and quite nervous, at first it will try to flee, but under persistent provocation it will try to bite. As most of the ''

Chilobrachys ''Chilobrachys'' is a genus of Asian tarantulas that was first described by Ferdinand Anton Franz Karsch in 1892. They are found in India, Myanmar, Malaysia, China, Vietnam, Thailand and Sri Lanka. They are usually medium or large-sized, and th ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

, it digs intricate and beautiful tunnel systems in the substrate.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q2400174 Theraphosidae Arthropods of Vietnam Spiders of Asia Spiders described in 1886