''Heterothele gabonensis,'' also known as the Gabon blue dwarf baboon tarantula is a species of

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 m ...

found in

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

. It was first described by Pierre Hippolyte Lucas in 1858, under the name ''Mygale gabonensis.'' They are semi arboreal

tarantulas 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 ...

, that web quite a lot. They have also showed some communal tendencies in the form of tolerance for one another over an extended period of time.

Description

Females live up to 7 years, while males only live to 2. Their carapace is a golden color, with some black coloration, their legs are black, under certain light it may look dark blue, with golden colored segmentations. Their

opisthosoma The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma ( cephalothorax). It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata (arachnids, horseshoe crabs and others). Although it is similar in most respects to ...

is golden, with a lot of black striping, forming an intricate pattern.

Habitat

They are usually found in the open

forests A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

of Lope National Park,

, especially in the

Uapaca ''Uapaca'' is a genus of plant, in the family Phyllanthaceae first described as a genus in 1858. It is the only genus comprised in the tribe Uapaceae. The genus is native to Africa and Madagascar. ''Uapaca'' is dioecious, with male and female f ...

trees, there they can be found in high numbers, living in close proximity to one another. The average temperature is 26ºC with average yearly rainfall of 1,800mm. It is home to animals such as

Forest Elephants The African forest elephant (''Loxodonta cyclotis'') is one of the two living African elephant species. It is native to humid forests in West Africa and the Congo Basin. It is the smallest of the three living elephant species, reaching a should ...

Mandrills The mandrill (''Mandrillus sphinx'') is a large Old World monkey native to west central Africa. It is one of the most colorful mammals in the world, with red and blue skin on its face and posterior. The species is sexually dimorphic, as males ...

and Black Guineafowls.

Behavior

They are semi arboreal

, making intricate webs in leaves and branches. They are skittish, preferring to run rather then fight, but they are also willing to bite. They have also shown communal tendencies, as they will tolerate each other for extended periods of time, though this has not been fully tested. Being compared to the '' Heterothele villosella''

, with its level of communalism.This of course is not recommended in captivity, especially with such a rare

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2199141 Spiders described in 1858 Theraphosidae Spiders of Africa