9 New Species Of Tree-Dwelling Tarantulas Discovered
RETROACTIVE WARNING: Spider pics.
Nine new species of tarantula were recently discovered in the forests of Brazil, most of which are already threatened or endangered thanks to habitat loss and overzealous spider collectors. You know, because overzealous spider collectors are a real thing. God, why couldn't you people be into stamp or Beanie Babies?
The study of the area's tarantulas was conducted by Rogério Bertani, a researcher at the Instituto Butantan in Sao Paulo.
As Bertani writes in his 94-page paper, tarantulas--arachnids of the family Theraphosidae--have not been heavily studied to date, "despite their potential importance as top predators in ecological webs, the pet trade and a source of important tools for pharmacological research."
I actually had a roommate with a pet tarantula in college and he was always the weird one none of the other roommates really liked. Not because of the tarantula, he was just a wierdo. I never liked him either and, on several occasions, went so far to sabotage his life behind his back. So, Greg, if you're reading this, I'm sorry you had to find out this way. Oh -- and please don't kill me. If you kill anyone it should be Scott because he used to pee on your toothbrush. Like, straight-up hold it in his stream until he was empty.
Thanks to Evil Ares, who's so evil spiders are afraid of HIM.
