The Singapore blue (''Omothymus violaceopes'') is a large,

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...

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 ...

from

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. These spiders have been known to grow in excess of 9 inches (23 cm) across. The legs are an intense blue with a brown or gold carapace. The male is usually not as vibrant, the species exhibiting

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...

. The generic placement of the species has been questioned, and specimens identified as males of this species may actually be from a different species.

Taxonomy

''Omothymus violaceopes'' was first described by H. C. Abraham in 1924, under the name ''Lampropelma violaceopedes''. However, specific names under the

International Code of Zoological Nomenclature The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the ...

cannot be plural, so ''violaceopedes'' was corrected to ''violaceopes''. In August 2019, the species was transferred to the genus ''

Omothymus ''Omothymus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae, found in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Description This genus can be distinguished from others thanks to their reproductive organs. They can be distinguished from ''Phormi ...

''.

Food

Diet consists primarily of large

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

cockroach Cockroaches (or roaches) are a Paraphyly, paraphyletic group of insects belonging to Blattodea, containing all members of the group except termites. About 30 cockroach species out of 4,600 are associated with human habitats. Some species are we ...

es, large

crickets Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets, and, more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 8 ...

, mantids, and other large arthropods. Occasionally, young mice,

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s and other small vertebrates are taken. During feeding, the abdomen (opisthosoma) will often increase its size two-fold.

In captivity

Singapore blues are commonly kept as pets because of their beautiful colours. Caution should be taken, as Singapore blues are a relatively aggressive species and tend to bite as the first line of defense. Recommended feeding includes four to six live

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

s every few weeks. Gut loading, or providing prey with vitamins and other nutrients, provides tarantulas with a healthy meal. Uneaten prey should be removed after one day. Fasting, or not eating, for days or weeks at a time is sometimes an indication of an upcoming moult. A water dish should be supplied and the water changed regularly to prevent harmful bacterial growth.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1647038 Theraphosidae Arthropods of Singapore Arthropods of Malaysia