Description
Scientific Name: Thrixopelma ockerti
Common names: Peruvian Flame Rump | Flame Rump Tree Spider | Peru Flame
The Peruvian flame rump is an interesting looking new world species with it’s steel blue legs, greenish blue carapace and it’s uniquely “flame” shaped rump. Their dull colors improve with age and they start looking similar to Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens – Green Bottle Blue tarantula at adult size. What adds to it’s uniqueness is that this is a species starts out as an opportunistic burrower and slowly becomes more and more arboreal as it grows, making use of both vertical and horizontal space during it’s lifespan.
Their behaviour as slings is very skittish and they tend to hide in their burrows a lot, but as they grow they become calmer and more visible, slowly spending more and more time on vertical structures. Once they reach adult size, they almost become Stone Gargoyles… posing in one position for days and weeks at a time.
When pestered they stick their bright flame rumps straight up in the air and flex all their legs to look mean and intimidating… this is a warning that the next move will be to start flicking urticating bristles in your direction, which this species is known to do quite easily; and their urticating bristles are type III, which can be severely uncomfortable to some keepers. Additional to the urticating bristles they possess on their abdomen, they also have another set of urticating bristles in a thin strip on their pedipalps, similar to the Ephebopus murinus – Skeleton Leg species.
A beautiful and unique spider that is not seen very often in South Africa and makes for a special piece in any hobbyists collection.
