YouTuber on wilderness expedition discovers new species of tarantula in bamboo

A bamboo forest. — (Image credit: iStock)

JoCho Sippawat took a walk on the wild side, and found a new species of tarantula.

Sippawat is a YouTuber from Thailand whose videos focus on wildlife in his country. While exploring near his home in northwestern Thailand, Sippawat took photos of a tarantula that was living inside a hollowed-out bamboo stalk. He sent the pictures to Narin Chomphuphuang, an arachnologist who studies spiders at Khon Kaen University, and after going into the forest to see the tarantula for himself, Chomphuphuang determined the tarantula belongs to a new genus and species, NBC News reports.

The tarantula has been named Taksinus bambus, in honor of the Thai king Taksin the Great. "This species is unique because it is associated with bamboo, and we have never observed this tarantula species in any other plant," Chomphuphuang said in a statement. "Bamboo is important to this tarantula, not only in terms of lifestyle but also because it can only be found in high hill forests in the northern part of Thailand, at an elevation of about 1,000 meters. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are now Thailand's rarest tarantulas."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.