i see you in the night

Mexico holds a lot of records for things natural. And I just discovered a new one. At least, new for me.

Mexico has either the largest (or second largest) number of tarantula species. That seems a bit odd to me because I had never seen a tarantula in the wild during my years of visiting or living here.

That is, until today. And I guess that is appropriate for Friday the thirteenth. Tarantulas tend to get lumped in with days like this. Black cats seem to be hooked at the hip with tarantulas. 

I found our nature guest in the patio this afternoon. Even though he is small, his basic identity is obvious. Tarantulas have a very pronounced prosoma (head and chest), impressive opisthosoma (abdomen), and "hairy" legs.

Assuming he did not arrive here in a shipping container, I will assume he is a Mexican native. And because I am not even an amateur naturalist when it comes to tarantulas (Mexican or otherwise), I will not attempt to slap one of the 66 potential specie names on him.

What am I saying? Of course, I will. My choice is Mexican black velvet tarantula because it is so obvious. He looks velvety to me. And he certainly is black. If I am wrong, someone will certainly feel free to tell me. And they should.

The biggest problem is that he is a juvenile. At least, his size leads me to that conclusion. Young spiders often do not change their look as they age. So, I have no idea if this guy will look like this all of his life.

Actually, I do know that is how he will look all of his life -- because his life is over. When I found him on the patio, he was as dead as Jeremy Corbyn's future. Maybe he did not welcome our cool nights as much as I have.

That makes me wonder just how common tarantulas are in this area. With the large number of species in Mexico, certainly there must be more just lurking under our pillows.

And that is your cue, loyal readers. Have you had any bump-in-the-night visits from these extraordinarily beautiful creatures?