12 votes

Jewel of the forest: New electric blue tarantula species discovered in Thailand

5 comments

  1. [5]
    SirNut
    Link
    I was disappointed to see the linked article did NOT have an embedded image of the tarantula, but when I searched for it myself I was impressed

    I was disappointed to see the linked article did NOT have an embedded image of the tarantula, but when I searched for it myself I was impressed

    4 votes
    1. [4]
      AevumDecessus
      Link Parent
      Interesting, but I believe that's a different species, the linked research article does have a picture embedded in it. It's quite striking either way, and according to the article, has evolved...

      Interesting, but I believe that's a different species, the linked research article does have a picture embedded in it. It's quite striking either way, and according to the article, has evolved independently at least 8 times in different tarantula species.

      The blue coloration in animals is a fascinating and relatively rare phenomenon in nature, often resulting from the arrangement of biological photonic nanostructures, rather than pigments, and this unique structural coloration has independently evolved in various species, contributing to the captivating diversity of color patterns in the animal kingdom (Prum 1999). Blue color in tarantulas is a unique instance of structural colors that evolved independently at least eight times, and tarantulas display less iridescence and maintain highly conserved reflectance in a specific narrow band of wavelengths, setting them apart from birds and insects (Hsiung et al. 2015).

      Prum Reference: Prum RO (1999) The anatomy and physics of avian structural colours. In: Adams NJ, Slotow RH (Eds) Proceedings of the 22nd International Ornithological Congress. Durban, South Africa: Bird Life South Africa.

      3 votes
      1. [3]
        SirNut
        Link Parent
        My mistake, I was looking through but whenever I clicked on the links did not see a clearly blue tarantula. I must not have tried every single one though Thanks for linking the actual tarantula, I...

        My mistake, I was looking through but whenever I clicked on the links did not see a clearly blue tarantula. I must not have tried every single one though

        Thanks for linking the actual tarantula, I agree it is quite striking!

        1. [2]
          SlappinSalmonella
          Link Parent
          It's at the bottom, just click on the "attached files" section to drop the list down. Has 4 pictures there.

          It's at the bottom, just click on the "attached files" section to drop the list down. Has 4 pictures there.

          2 votes
          1. SirNut
            Link Parent
            OH!!!!!!!!! I SEE NOW Wow that looks so cool!

            OH!!!!!!!!! I SEE NOW

            Wow that looks so cool!