''Tapinauchenius plumipes'', the orange tree spider, 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 ...

endemic to

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

. It was first described by

Ludovico Di Caporiacco Ludovico di Caporiacco (22 January 1900, in Udine – 18 July 1951, in Parma) was an Italian arachnologist. Caporiacco took part in an expedition to the Jebel Uweinat, a mountain massif in the boundary region of Sudan, Libya, and Egypt. On the mi ...

in 1954. Its previous name, ''Tapinauchenius gigas'' was based on the latin word for giant, being gigas. This

is kept as pets and commonly breed.

Description

''Tapinauchenius plumipes'' is easily distinguished by their bright orange coloration on the legs and abdomen, carapace colored similar but lighter, females reach roughly 5.5 inches in diagonal leg span. It lacks

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 ...

s and is arboreal. This species can be found in tree cavities and will often result to hasty retreat when disturbed. The eggsac will often contain 100-140 spiderlings. Females live from 14 to 18 years and males from 3 to 4 years, under proper care.

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

, where the average yearly temperature is 26°C and the average yearly rainfall being 3,160mm. This

lives in the lowland rainforest of the

Amazon Rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

which are still fairly unexplored, this

enjoys higher humidity than most other

tarantulas 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 ...

. It lives near and in the

Guiana Amazonian Park Guiana Amazonian Park (french: Parc amazonien de Guyane) is the largest List of national parks of France, national park of France, aiming at protecting part of the Amazonian forest located in French Guiana which covers 41% of the region of Fran ...

, covering 40% of the territory, the area where this

is found is roughly 200m-300m

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 ...

Behavior

As their common name may suggest, they are arboreal

. Their behavior is usually described as skittish and defensive, they own a painful bite, but will usually retreat to their hide before that happens. This

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

also spends a fair amount of time out in their enclosure, instead of being hidden. This tarantula is not a heavy webber, only slightly webbing the entrance to their hide.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q63439490, from2=Q1647343 Theraphosidae Spiders described in 1954