Researchers have discovered a new species of tarantula lurking in mangrove swamps – and they have vibrant blue legs. The arachnid was discovered inhabiting hollow trees, in Phang-Nga, Thailand. They like to live in humid and wet conditions. Caused by its unique hair nanostructure, the spider omits an electric blue colour. “The difficulty of catching an electric-blue tarantula lies in the need to climb a tree and lure it out of a complex of hollows,” said researcher Dr Narin Chomphuphuang. “During our expedition, we walked in the evening and at night during low tide, managing to collect only two of them.” Blue is one of the rarest colours to appear in nature, absorbing very small amounts of energy to reflect the blue light. Creating an iridescent effect, the species is known as Chilobrachys Natanicharum, the Electric Blue Tarantula. This spider is one of the rarest tarantulas in the world, facing extinction due to the looming threat of deforestation of the mangrove forests. The researchers are thus campaigning for preservation efforts, hoping to save the newly discovered species. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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