Emily Chan
A new species of tarantula, a red-reared arachnid, has been discovered in the Chiricahua Mountains in southeastern Arizona. It is the 30th species of tarantula to be recorded in the United States.
The fuzzy, eight-legged creature is black and gray with “fiery red” hairs on its abdomen. It was named Aphonopelma jacobii after Michael Jacobi, who helped find some of the first specimens.
“We often hear about new species being discovered from remote corners of Earth, but it is remarkable that these spiders are found in our own backyard, albeit in somewhat difficult-to-access areas of our backyard,” said Chris Hamilton, one of the lead authors of the study and an assistant professor from the University of Idaho.
“With Earth in the midst of a human-mediated extinction crisis, it is astonishing how little we know about our planet’s biodiversity, even for conspicuous and charismatic groups such as tarantulas.”
The tarantula was found in the forests of the Chiricahua Mountains, where the winters can get bitterly cold. The mountains are known for their diverse range of creatures. They are home to many species that are unique to the area.
They make up a part of the Madrean Archipelago, which is often referred to as the Madrean Sky Islands, a complex of forested mountain ranges separated by grasslands and deserts.
The “islands” span the Cordilleran gap from the Colorado Plateau to the Rocky Mountains in the southwestern United States and the Sierra Madre Occidental in northwestern Mexico.
The Chiricahua Mountains evolved in isolation, leading to the biodiversity hotspot it is today. Unfortunately, the tarantula’s natural habitat is being threatened by climate change, so it faces many dangers, including extinction.
Over the next few decades, the forests in the Sky Island region will start to disappear from the mountains as temperatures continue to rise and precipitation continues to decrease.
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