Poecilotheria bara
| Lowland Ornamental Tarantula | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Suborder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Family: | Theraphosidae |
| Subfamily: | Poecilotheriinae |
| Genus: | Poecilotheria |
| Species: | P. bara |
| Binomial name | |
| Poecilotheria bara Chamberlin, 1917 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Poecilotheria pederseni | |
Poecilotheria bara, or the Lowland ornamental, is an arboreal tarantula. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.[1] As of February 2016, the World Spider Catalog regards this as a synonym of Poecilotheria subfusca, but other sources suggest that, based on morphological differences, it is a distinct species, with the highland form being P. subfusca and the lowland form P. bara.[2][3]
Size
Female is much larger and 8-9cm from head-to-body length. Males are 6-7cm.
Identification
The species can identified from other tiger spiders due to large black opisthosoma. Folium possessing three linked dark spots, that ends halfway down the opisthosoma.[4]
Female
Dorsally, carapace is dark brown with pale edges and form stardust appearance. Chelicerae are creamy colored. All 4 leg pairs are identical. Femur blackish brown with a cream band. Patella is creamy. Tibia with two parallel lines of oblong spots.[4]
Ventrally, pale brownish body. Maxilla is much darker. All four pairs of legs are identical.
Male
Dorsally, pale brown all over the body with inconspicuous markings. Ventrally, similar to female, all leg pairs are metallic brown in color.[4]
Ecology
Compared to other tiger spiders, this species is very agile and jumpy, it can bite when provoked.[4]
References
- ↑ "Poecilotheria sp. "bara"". My Basic Tarantula. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
- ↑ "Poecilotheria subfusca - Ivory Ornamental". The Spider Diaries. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
- ↑ "Poecilotheria subfusca and bara". Theraphosidae. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 Nanayakkara, Ranil P. (2014). Tiger Spiders Poecilotheria of Sri Lanka. Colombo: Biodiversity Secretariat, Ministry of Environmental & Renewable Energy. p. 167. ISBN 978-955-0033-58-4.