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Olmagon — Take Care

#bird #calyptomena #purpleearthtiger #animal #animalart #animaldrawing #arachnid #birddrawing #chick #flashlight #halloween #hatihati #invertebrate #nest #night #rainforest #spider #tarantula #wilderness #wildlife #wildlifeart #broadbill #passerine #theraphosidae #cyriopagopus #wildlifeanimal #greenbroadbill #halloween2022 #spooktober2022 #calyptomenidae
Published: 2022-10-31 23:20:44 +0000 UTC; Views: 7270; Favourites: 110; Downloads: 2
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Description High up in the branches of a rainforest on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, a green broadbill (Calyptomena viridis gloriosa) decides to check on a sound that woke it from its sleep. As it leaves its hanging nest and perches on the side of the nest to take a look, it finds that a large spider, a purple earth tiger (Cyriopagopus sp. Hati hati) is crawling down a branch uncomfortably close to the bird's nest and three chicks, who are also awakened and peek out through the nest opening. Luckily though, the bird had built the nest to hang off a much thinner twig that the tarantula is unable to climb, and the arachnid cannot get closer than it already is.

Kind of a last minute artwork made for another Animal of the Month challenge from the Wildlife--Awareness group. Also since it's Halloween here's a big spider since those are seen as scary and spooky but also kinda overly demonized and deserve more appreciation. I also sorta like drawing these night scenes with a flashlight pointed at them. This also serves as another addition to my series of pictures involving large arthropods alongside small tetrapods to emphasize their size, which now that I have five of I should probably start a new folder in my gallery for them.

The green broadbill, or lesser green broadbill, is a small passerine bird about 17 centimeters long that lives in the rainforests of southeast Asia. 3 subspecies are currently recognized, and while the one ranging through the Indonesian Islands was formerly listed as C. v. viridis, recent subspecies revisions earlier this year have reapplied that name to the continental Asian subspecies, with the Indonesian one now being known as C. v. gloriosa, so that's the one featured in this drawing since it's set in Sumatra. This bird has bright green feathers all over, with the exception of a few black patches, which obviously are good camouflage in a rainforest full of plants and leaves. The nest of the green broadbill is (poorly drawn such that I am a bit unsatisfied with it,) weaved from grasses into a long, vaguely tubular structure that hangs off a thin twig so that few predators can access it, and generally 2 or 3 eggs are laid within. The bird isn't nocturnal or anything so it may be quite speculative for me to show one waking up in the dead of night and just heading out like this though.

The purple earth tiger is one of several species of Asian tarantulas to be arboreal and live up in trees, along with members of the Poecilotheria genus. However the purple earth tiger is not of that genus, but instead is thought to belong in Cyriopagopus, which is a bit odd as Cyriopagopus tarantulas are usually fossorial and live in underground burrows. I'm honestly unsure if it really is a Cyriopagopus though, as several other arboreal tarantulas formerly placed in that genus have since been moved to others, but as far as I can find this is still the most recent classification. Actually, this species seems quote poorly studied, and doesn't even seem to actually be scientifically described yet, as I can only find sources referring to it as Cyriopagopus sp. "Hatihati", with 'Hati hati' apparently being an Indonesian term for 'take care' or 'be careful' as its bite is quite painful, though not venomous enough to kill a human. Almost all information I can find on this species comes from pet store websites trying to sell me this thing, and I'm not too sure their info is reliable but assuming it is, this arboreal tarantula has a legspan of around 15 centimeters, was only first discovered in 2012, is found in Sumatra and Borneo, and somehow despite being so recently-known and not even described, it is already somewhat popular and available in the pet trade (I'm not really a pet trade type of guy though so correct me if I'm wrong). A big spider that's also purple-blue does sound like something exotic pet fans would like.
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Comments: 16

VeronRishka [2022-11-07 19:07:50 +0000 UTC]

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Olmagon In reply to VeronRishka [2022-11-13 01:03:32 +0000 UTC]

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Megatherium7 [2022-11-01 18:16:31 +0000 UTC]

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Olmagon In reply to Megatherium7 [2022-11-01 20:48:10 +0000 UTC]

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Megatherium7 In reply to Olmagon [2022-11-02 00:09:58 +0000 UTC]

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Olmagon In reply to Megatherium7 [2022-11-02 00:53:36 +0000 UTC]

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MoonyMina [2022-11-01 16:14:07 +0000 UTC]

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Olmagon In reply to MoonyMina [2022-11-01 16:45:07 +0000 UTC]

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creodont [2022-11-01 15:29:57 +0000 UTC]

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Olmagon In reply to creodont [2022-11-01 16:44:54 +0000 UTC]

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acepredator In reply to Olmagon [2022-11-02 00:49:19 +0000 UTC]

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guzzlordnut [2022-11-01 14:05:40 +0000 UTC]

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Olmagon In reply to guzzlordnut [2022-11-01 22:12:40 +0000 UTC]

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acepredator [2022-11-01 02:52:47 +0000 UTC]

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Olmagon In reply to acepredator [2022-11-05 02:43:26 +0000 UTC]

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acepredator In reply to Olmagon [2022-11-05 04:10:37 +0000 UTC]

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