Thailand Black tarantula (Haplopelma Minax)
Image Copyright Robin Stenslund
Observed: December 2015, Koh Chang
Observed By: สุธนัย ครุพานิช
Arachnaphobes look away, click return, nothing to see here.
Everyone else celebrate the marvellous Thailand black tarantula. It is a species of old-world tarantula native to Thailand.
They are floor living jungle dwellers and reside in a burrow that is surrounded by special web filaments that, when triggered by prey, will bring the spider out to capture and feed.
There are actually several similar species of Haplopelma in Thailand/Burma/Cambodia/laso area and they are quite similar so this might be one of the sisters of Minax. The last recognised species Haplopelma Longipes was only identified in 2005, so you never know, this might be a new one.
