These high peaks form the largest mountain range in the Madrean Archipelago \u2013 often referred to as the Madrean Sky Islands \u2013 and can become bitterly cold in the winter months. It’s a tough place for any animal to survive, let alone a little tarantula. Yet survive Aphonopelma jacobii<\/em> does.<\/p> The discovery is a bitter-sweet moment for the scientists who described the new species in a recent study<\/u><\/a>\u00a0published in\u00a0ZooKeys<\/em>. Despite only just becoming known to science, the tarantula is already at risk of extinction.<\/p> The Chiricahua Mountains lie between the Colorado Plateau and Rocky Mountains in the south-west United States and the Sierra Madre Occidental in north-west Mexico. The complex range is renowned for its montane forest, its exceptional biodiversity and high levels of endemism. Like the other ranges in the wider Madrean Archipelago, the Chiricahuas form an ‘island’, separated from its neighbours by low deserts and dry grasslands.<\/p> This geography means the range has evolved in isolation, and with it numerous endemic species have also evolved, making the mountains totally unique.<\/p> It was in the Chiricahuas that Aphonopelma jacobii<\/em> was discovered, explains Dr. Chris Hamilton, assistant professor at the\u00a0University of Idaho<\/u><\/a>\u00a0and co-lead author of the study.<\/p> \u201cWe often hear about new species being discovered from remote corners of Earth, but it is remarkable that these spiders are found in our own backyard, albeit in somewhat difficult-to-access areas of our backyard.<\/p> “With Earth in the midst of a human-mediated extinction crisis, it is astonishing how little we know about our planet\u2019s biodiversity, even for conspicuous and charismatic groups such as tarantulas.\u201d<\/p> But the forests where this small, black and grey tarantula live are threatened by several factors, most notably climate change, and over the next several decades, as temperatures increase and precipitation decreases, researchers are worried that the forests that blanket the Sky Islands will be \u201cpushed off\u201d.<\/p> The impact on animals adapted to these cooler and more humid mountain tops \u2013 such as Aphonopelma jacobii<\/em> \u2013 will likely become extinct as their habitat disappears, says Dr. Brent Hendrixson, professor at\u00a0Millsaps College<\/u><\/a>\u00a0and co-lead author of the study.<\/p> And there are other threats too, explains Hendrixson. \u201cThese fragile habitats are also threatened by increased exurban development in the San Simon Valley and Portal areas, destructive recreational activities, and wildfires. <\/p> “In addition, there is some concern that these tarantulas will be exploited for the exotic pet trade due to their rarity, striking coloration, and docile disposition. <\/p> “We must consider the impact that unethical collectors might have on these spiders when determining the threats to this species and the implications for its conservation.\u201d<\/p> \u201cThis discovery represents the 30th<\/sup>\u00a0species of tarantula documented from the United States.\u00a0Aphonopelma<\/em>\u00a0is the most species diverse tarantula genus on the planet (at least for documented species),” says Hamilton. <\/p> “Our research adds to this number and continues to advance our understanding of the true species diversity in this incredibly interesting and important biodiversity hotspot.\u201d <\/p> Aphonopelma jacobii<\/em>\u00a0is named after Michael A. Jacobi, who helped find several of the first specimens which led to the description of the new species.<\/p> Read more about the study: Will climate change lead to the extinction of a newly discovered tarantula species?<\/a><\/em><\/p> Main image: A photograph of\u00a0Aphonopelma jacobii’s habitat high up in the Chiricahua Mountains. Credit: Michael A. Jacobi<\/em><\/p> More stories about wildlife from around the world<\/strong><\/p> Over the next few decades, the forests that cloak the Chiricahua Mountains will be \u201cpushed off\u201d because of climate change, in turn leading to the extinction of the newly described spider, say scientists from the University of Idaho. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":41266,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/08\/tarantula-discovered-in-arizonas-sky-islands-already-at-risk-of-extinction-say-scientists.jpg",1500,1000,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/08\/tarantula-discovered-in-arizonas-sky-islands-already-at-risk-of-extinction-say-scientists-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/08\/tarantula-discovered-in-arizonas-sky-islands-already-at-risk-of-extinction-say-scientists-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/08\/tarantula-discovered-in-arizonas-sky-islands-already-at-risk-of-extinction-say-scientists-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/08\/tarantula-discovered-in-arizonas-sky-islands-already-at-risk-of-extinction-say-scientists-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/08\/tarantula-discovered-in-arizonas-sky-islands-already-at-risk-of-extinction-say-scientists.jpg",1500,1000,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/08\/tarantula-discovered-in-arizonas-sky-islands-already-at-risk-of-extinction-say-scientists.jpg",1500,1000,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Over the next few decades, the forests that cloak the Chiricahua Mountains will be \u201cpushed off\u201d because of climate change, in turn leading to the extinction of the newly described spider, say scientists from the University of Idaho.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/41265"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41266"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Into the Sky Mountains<\/h2>
![\"Aphonpelma](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Aphonpelma-jacobii-male.jpg\")
Tarantula discovery<\/h2>
![\"Aphonpelma](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Aphonpelma-jacobii-in-Chiricahua-Mountains.jpeg\")
Sinking islands<\/h2>
![\"Aphonpelma](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/08\/Aphonpelma-jacobii-female.jpeg\")
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