Cool mist and steep slopes
We found these red-legged tarantulas in wet upland forest, often where the ground rose sharply. Their retreats were narrow and set into slopes. Mist and light rain were part of several encounters, and spiders sometimes came to the entrance in daylight.
A new genus for a familiar spider
The accepted name is Abdomegaphobema mesomelas (O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1892). Sherwood and colleagues established Abdomegaphobema in 2023 and moved mesomelas and peterklaasi from Megaphobema. The World Spider Catalog records both species from Costa Rica [1, 2].
Earlier field film of this species, published under its former name Megaphobema mesomelas.
The male and female on camera
At one site we found an adult male and female and filmed their contact. The footage records an interaction, not proof that mating succeeded. A retreat seen in the field also cannot supply one universal burrow length.
Captivity needs measured records
The upland setting was cooler than Costa Rican lowlands during our visits. That contrast matters, but it is not an enclosure prescription. Useful captive notes need measured temperatures, ventilation, substrate conditions, molts, and reproductive outcomes from the animals concerned.
Cloud-forest encounters on video and in photographs
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References
- [1] World Spider Catalog (2026). World Spider Catalog, version 27. Natural History Museum Bern. Abdomegaphobema mesomelas species record. doi:10.24436/2.
- [2] Sherwood, D., Gabriel, R., Peñaherrera-R., P., León-E., R. J., Cisneros-Heredia, D. F., Brescovit, A. D. & Lucas, S. M. (2023). Pamphobeteus: redescriptions, new species and records, with taxonomic notes and changes in Megaphobema. Arachnology 19(6): 894-930. doi:10.13156/arac.2023.19.6.894.
