It is a real rarity: This metallic blue shimmering tarantula is sought after by exotic lovers because of its blue color, which is rare in the animal kingdom. But that is precisely why it is now in acute danger of extinction in its habitat, the dry forests of Southeast India.
The wildlife trade is as lucrative as it is questionable. Because animals are often caught illegally from the wild and shipped around the world as part of these transactions. This helps to further reduce the stocks of especially rare and endangered species. However, despite the appeals from many nature conservation organizations and tangible bans on trading in some particularly endangered animals, demand is high. For some terrarium owners, the following applies: the more exotic and rarer the animal kept, the better.
In addition: “Although global trade affects all branches of life – from mushrooms to plants, from small marine animals to large land mammals – trade with the particularly charismatic species is best monitored,” says Stefano Mammola from the University of Helsinki. In contrast, the sale and dispatch of endangered and rare invertebrates are often ignored and largely unimpeded.
One of the animal species that is sought after by terrarium owners all over the world despite their threat is the blue ornament tarantula (Poecilotheria metallica) shown here. It occurs only in the dry forests of a region in southeast India. There she seeks shelter from the heat in underground tubes during the day. At night the tarantula then hunts for prey – this includes both large insects and small reptiles.
Their striking blue-metallic color is not due to these spiders, but to a refractive nanostructure in their outer skin. This creates the color impression and gives the gray to black base color a bluish shimmer.