''Phormictopus auratus'', commonly known as the Cuban bronze 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 Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. It is found in the provinces of

Camagüey Camagüey () is a city and municipality in central Cuba and is the nation's third-largest city with more than 321,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Camagüey Province. It was founded as Santa María del Puerto del Príncipe in 1514, by S ...

, Las Tunas and

Holguín Holguín () is a municipality and city in Cuba, and the capital of Province of Holguín. After Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and Camagüey, it is the fourth largest city in Cuba. History Before Columbus, the Taino people settled in huts made fro ...

. It was first described by David Ortiz and

Rogério Bertani Rogério Bertani is a Brazilian arachnologist, active at the Butantan Institute. He is credited as one of the foremost specialists in Theraphosidae Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , ...

in 2005, and was named after golden hairs found in this species, auratus meaning golden in Latin.

Description

Females live up to 15 years, while males only live from 4 to 5. It is unmistakable for any

in its genus, in a great part thanks to those golden coloration. Somehow it has been mistaken for other species in the

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 ...

. 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 a golden color, alongside the legs, which are mostly covered in greyish hairs. The

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 ...

is black covered in grayish hairs, though this hairs alongside the ones of the legs may look blue in certain lighting conditions.

Habitat

They can be found in

in Las Tunas,

and

, the latter being the one this section will be referring to. The average temperatures are 26 °C, with average yearly rainfall of 587mm. With plants such as

Ceiba ''Ceiba'' is a genus of trees in the family Malvaceae, native to tropical and subtropical areas of the Americas (from Mexico and the Caribbean to N Argentina) and tropical West Africa. Some species can grow to tall or more, with a straight, la ...

, Guásima and Yagruma.

Behavior

This

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 ...

, they

burrow An Eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of sh ...

quite a bit, and are usually out of their hides, wandering about. They aren't by any means shy and are capable of moving quite fast, making them a bit scarier than most

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

References

Theraphosidae Spiders of the Caribbean Spiders described in 2005 Endemic fauna of Cuba {{Theraphosidae-stub

Description

Habitat

Behavior

See also

References