''Idiothele mira'', also known as the blue-foot baboon or the trap-door 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 ...

endemic to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and is popularized by hobbyists for the striking blue coloration on the ventral side of the tarsi and metatarsi on each leg. Furthermore, the species is well known for belonging to one of two described genera of theraphosids that build a trapdoor, the other being ''

Typhochlaena ''Typhochlaena'' is a genus of small-bodied tarantulas with an arboreal trapdoor lifestyle. All the species except for ''T. seladonia'' were first described by Rogério Bertani in 2012. Characteristics ''Typhochlaena'' differs from all ...

''.

Description

''Idiothele mira'' is a small species, mature females reaching 4.5 inches in diagonal leg span and is very reclusive, rarely leaving its burrow, usually only for mating purposes. This species is easily distinguished by its bright blue "toes" or tarsi and metatarsi, paired with a black and golden carapace, gold radiating within black in a "starburst" pattern, the abdomen is also golden with black speckling. Males have a smaller body size when compared to the leg span, and reach 3.5 inches on average. The eggsac of ''Idiothele mira'' commonly contains 25-45 spiderlings. The type specimen is a mature female found in the ''Ndumo Game Farm'' of South Africa, an area that has high summer rainfall followed by extremely dry winters.

Etymology

From the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "wonderful", referring to the sky-blue coloration on the tarsi and metatarsi.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1920286 Endemic fauna of South Africa Theraphosidae Spiders of South Africa Spiders described in 2010