Brachypelma emilia

Brachypelma emilia
Mexican redleg tarantula
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Subphylum:Chelicerata
Class:Arachnida
Order:Araneae
Infraorder:Mygalomorphae
Family:Theraphosidae
Genus:Brachypelma
Species: B. emilia
Binomial name
Brachypelma emilia
White, 1856[1]
Distribution of B. emilia.
Synonyms[1]
  • Mygale emilia White, 1856
  • Brachypelma aemilia (White, 1856), orth. var.
  • Eurypelma emilia (White, 1856)
  • Euathlus emilia (White, 1856)

The Mexican redleg or red-legged tarantula (Brachypelma emilia) is a species of terrestrial tarantula closely related to the famous Mexican redknee tarantula. Like the redknee it is a docile tarantula and popular in the pet trade. It is slow growing and, like many tarantulas, females can live for decades.

Description

The Mexican redleg also known as the red-legged tarantula has a dark-colored body with the second joint of its legs being pink, red or orange. Its carapace is light colored with a distinctive black triangle at the front. Following moulting, the colors are more pronounced.

An adult female has a body roughly 65 mm long, with a legspan of 12.5 cm, and a weight of approximately 15 to 16 grams.

Conservation

All species of Brachypelma were placed on CITES Appendix II in 1994, thus restricting trade.[2] Nevertheless, large numbers of tarantulas caught in the wild continue to be smuggled out of Mexico, including species of Brachypelma.[3]

In captivity

The Mexican redleg is a mostly docile species, perhaps more so even than the redknee. That, coupled with its coloration, and impressive size, makes it a very popular pet species. As such it is considered to be threatened by capture for sale to the pet trade.[4]

It is very reluctant to bite when distressed, but possesses urticating hair and will flick these if it feels threatened.

References

  1. 1 2 "Taxon details Brachypelma emilia (White, 1856)". World Spider Catalog. Natural History Museum Bern. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  2. ↑ "Brachypelma smithi (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897): Documents". Species+. UNEP-WCMC & CITES Secretariat. Retrieved 2017-09-22.
  3. ↑ Mendoza, J. & Francke, O. (2017). "Systematic revision of Brachypelma red-kneed tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae), and the use of DNA barcodes to assist in the identification and conservation of CITES-listed species". Invertebrate Systematics. 31 (2): 157–179. doi:10.1071/IS16023.
  4. ↑ "Mexican redleg tarantula (Brachypelma emilia)". Wildscreen Arkive. Wildscreen. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  • Hijmensen, Eddy (2011). "Brachypelma emilia". mantid.nl. Retrieved 2017-10-05. (Photographs taken in the wild.)
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