''Amazonius burgessi'' is a

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 ...

in the ''

Amazonius Apollo Amazonius ( Gr. ) was a cultic epithet of the Greek god Apollo, under which he was worshiped, and had a temple at Pyrrhichus in Laconia. The name was derived either from the belief that the mythological Amazons had penetrated into the Pel ...

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 was first described by Martin Hüsser in 2018. It is found in Leticia,

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and

Iquitos Iquitos (; ) is the capital city of Peru's Maynas Province and Loreto Region. It is the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon, east of the Andes, as well as the ninth-most populous city of Peru. Iquitos is the largest city in the world th ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, although it is likely also found in

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

. It is named after Joseph Burges, who helped to collect important material for this study. It is fairly commonly bred and kept in captivity, with its common name being the Ghost Tree Spider. As the name suggests, it is an arboreal tarantula, and usually has a skittish behavior.

Description

The described specimens were offspring raised in captivity of a wild caught specimen that were collected from a burrow and preserved in 80% ethanol. They have a faded brown, black or grey color, and long light hairs being orange or red in the abdomen.

Habitat

This

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 ...

is found in

and likely

, in lowland rainforests of the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

. With average temperatures of 25–26 °C, the average yearly rainfall being 2900mm, being roughly around 100m

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

Care

The A. Burgessi requires typical tarantula care, such as

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q72411822 Spiders of South America Theraphosidae Spiders described in 2018