An attractive, electric blue spider from the Eastern Ghats has made its way into the public conversation, after Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan shared a post on Instagram in which he called the Peacock Tarantula “a rare gem of the Eastern Ghats”. it’s finally getting the attention it deserves. The species in focus, the peacock tarantula (Poecilotheria metallica), is one of India’s most visually stunning but least known arachnids.

Endemic to a small patch of forest in Andhra Pradesh, it is classified as ‘Critically Endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with its survival threatened by habitat loss and its extremely restricted range.