In just one month, researchers who conducted an ecological survey in Guyana found more than 30 new species. The most compelling findings are the exotic blue electric tarantulas.
According to a report released on November 16, 2017, the tarantula was found in Kaieteur and Upper Potaro National Parks in the northern region of the South American continent. Incidentally, the area is indeed known for its rich biodiversity and habitat for a number of endemic species.
The reptile and amphibian mammal Andrew Snyder recounts that the tarantula was found accidentally. He looked at a rotting tree with a number of holes in Upper Potaro.
Then Snyder directs the spotlight into a hole. Unwitting lights allegedly making a tarantula out of the hole.
Snyder and the researchers have not been able to explain the type of tarantula. Understandably, his form is unusual for the Theraphosidae family – the Latin name of the tarantula in the scientific realm.
Snyder suspects this blue tarantula is a communal species of the Ischnocolinae sub-family (spider) that used to hide in a hole. One sign is the tarantula is rarely hiding and this new breed lacks enough hair which is usually the first defense of predators.
According to him, this is not necessarily a color game (iridescence). Tarantula cobalt in Southeast Asia also has a shiny blue leg, as well as Singapore’s blue tarantula (Lampropelma violaceopes) and Greenbottle blue tarantulas (Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens) that have blue feet and hard shells (carapace).
“I went there at night, the light of my spotlight gave rise to a blue glow from the hole I initially ignored it because I thought it was just an ordinary spider.
“But I feel there is something different, something that makes me go back there,” he said in a written report.
This is one of the largest ecological surveys there involving researchers from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Guyana University, and the Commission on Global Protected Areas of Wildlife and Conservation.
In addition to the intended tarantula, the researchers also found six new species of fish, three plants, 15 water beetles, frogs, and several dragonflies. Everything is new in science.
In addition to discovering a number of new species, the survey also highlighted the region’s important role as a threatened species habitat such as Tepui swift, jaguar, white laced peccary, and iconic rocket frog.
The report also says that the area has more than 50 percent of birds, 30 percent mammals, and 43 percent amphibians.
“Guyana’s view is different in many ways,” the researchers said. “But the most remarkable is that more than 85 percent of it is still covered by rain forests, the second highest proportion in the world, as other countries are experiencing huge losses of biodiversity and environmental degradation.
At the same time, Guyana’s biodiversity remains largely undocumented and poorly studied, “they said.
The country’s biodiversity is protected naturally because of its low human population density and many inaccessible areas. But over the past decade, threats from illegal mining and other hazardous activities have increased.