''Nhandu coloratovillosus'' also known as the Brazilian black & white tarantula or the bombardier tarantula, is a species of tarantula first described by Günter Schmidt in 1998. They are found in the

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

s of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, and are

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

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 ...

Description

Females live 15 years, while males only to 4 years. Their

carapace A carapace is a Dorsum (biology), dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tor ...

is black, with an alternating black and white pattern, starting with black and ending with black. Their legs and

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 a ...

are covered in orange hairs, making the white parts of the legs look dirty. Their

is black covered in long orange hairs.

Habitat

They are found in the

s of

and

. These

s may reach temperatures of up to 35 °C, and are in the negatives during winter. In these

s there is an average yearly rainfall of 1,200mm.

Behavior

They are

s, each with their own personality. Some are incredibly docile, while others are way more nervous and skittish. Though most of them are willing to fling

urticating hair Urticating hairs or urticating bristles are one of the primary defense mechanisms used by numerous plants, almost all New World tarantulas, and various lepidopteran caterpillars. ''Urtica'' is Latin for "nettle" (stinging nettles are in the genu ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1647842 Spiders of Brazil Spiders of South America Spiders described in 1998 Theraphosidae