Awe-inspiring new 'Persian Gold' tarantula discovered in Iran
A new arachnid, the Persian Gold Tarantula (Chaetopelma persianum), has been discovered in Iran.
Arachnologist and taxonomist Dr Alireza Zamani (University of Turku, Finland) and his Canadian colleague Rick C. West announced their discovery in the peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal ZooKeys on Tarantula Appreciation Day: 8 August 2023.
The new species belongs to Chaetopelma, a relatively small genus, distributed in Crete, Sudan, and the Middle East. It is also one of the only two tarantula genera inhabiting the Mediterranean region.
The newly published discovery also presents the first record of this genus in Iran and the third known species of tarantulas in the country. Additionally, it extends the known range of Chaetopelma spiders by almost 350 km eastwards.
The name of the new-to-science species, Chaetopelma persianum, pays tribute to its country of occurrence, as Iran has historically been known as Persia. The authors suggest "Persian Gold Tarantula" as a colloquial name for the species.
This tarantula is an obligate burrower and inhabits high elevations in well-vegetated mountainous regions of the northern Zagros Mountains. The collected specimen used to describe the new species was found in a self-made ground burrow on sloped rocky ground, amidst sparse low vegetation and grasses.
The discovery can also be attributed to local nature enthusiast Mehdi Gavahyan, who photographed a wandering male and sent the photo to Zamani. Having figured that the spider was likely a species currently unknown to science, the scientist asked Gavahyan to team up with Amir Hossein Aghaei, a nature enthusiast and a friend, and send him specimens of these spiders for further examination.
