Aphonopelma mooreae

Aphonopelma mooreae
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Mygalomorphae
Family:	Theraphosidae
Genus:	Aphonopelma
Species:	A. mooreae
Binomial name
Aphonopelma mooreae Smith, 1995

Aphonopelma moreae, otherwise known as the Mexican jade fuego tarantula, is a species of tarantula first described by Andrew Smith in 1995. It is named after Barbara Moore, who is the President of the American Arachnological Society. As its common name may suggest, it is found in Mexico, in the state of Sonora, south of Yécora. This is a terrestrial tarantula that sometimes dig intricate burrows. ^[1]

This tarantula's legs are a metallic blue, getting to be almost black in some areas, covered in long slender reddish hairs. The carapace and chelicerae are a metallic blueish-green color. With the opisthosoma being black, covered with long reddish hairs. Somewhat resembling the Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens in coloration, although it is harier. Females live up to 20 years, while males only live to around 8 years.^[1]

Yécora has subtropical highland climate, and is located in the Sierra Madre Occidental, it has average temperatures of 14 °C, with an average yearly rainfall of 1,023mm. It is mainly deciduous forest in unison with coniferous and pine forests, with plants such as Pochote and Cyrtocarpa procera. This area also owns a wide range of animals such as ocelots, lynx, and California Spiny Tailed Iguanas.^[2]