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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Stan Schultz" data-source="post: 223934" data-attributes="member: 28438">Au contraire, mon ami! There are two species of tarantula native to southwestern Mexico that resemble each other so closely that the casual amateur has trouble distinguishing them. In the past they were collectively called Brachypelma smithi (scientific name) or the Mexican redknee tarantula (Common Names of Arachnids, 2003, Amer. Arachnid Soc. ).Recently, however, it has been determined that there are in fact two different species of Brachypelma using the same name:Brachypelma hamorii from the Mexican state of Colima.Brachypelma smithi from the state of Guerrero, Mexico(Systematic revision of Mexican threatened tarantulas... Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. Vol: 8,1. 2020.)In both cases, the spiders live on a coastal plain between the Pacific Ocean and the mountain ranges to the east. This is NOT desert! As I recall, it's called a deciduous dry forest habitat, in many ways comparable to a similar habitat found along the Pacific Coast of California (as opposed to the deserts found on the other, eastern side of the California mountains.). I am attaching a photo of the habitat from Guerrero (Timothy Burkhardt - with permission).For the casual hobbyist, however, all this isn't really very important. They still make great pets: large, hardy, long lived, gentle, colorful. Their only detracting quality is that their urticating bristles are rather more potent than those of most other New World species. Enjoy your not-so-little, fuzzy buddy!</blockquote>

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