Mexican Redknee Tarantula

The Mexican redknee tarantula, Brachypelma hamorii, is a large, vulnerable tarantula endemic to hilly deciduous tropical forest on Mexico's Pacific coast in Colima, Jalisco and Michoacan, long confused with the closely related Brachypelma smithi until the two were formally distinguished in 2017. Its legs and palps carry three distinct colored bands, deep orange near the body, pale orange-yellow further out and yellowish-white at the tips; adult females measure 52 to 54 millimeters in body length and males 46 to 52 millimeters, though males have proportionally longer legs. The species digs and lives in underground burrows, and though docile and more likely to flick urticating hairs from its abdomen than bite when disturbed, it faces pressure from illegal collection for the pet trade; it is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN and on CITES Appendix II.