Psalmopoeus cambridgei

Psalmopoeus cambridgei is the type species of the genus Psalmopoeus and was initially incorrectly said as coming from Malaysia. Instead it was demonstrated they originate on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago. They are well known on Trinidad and this is where the hobby material originates. This tarantula has been in the hobby for at least 30 years if not more. They attain a leg span of around 6in making them the largest species Psalmopoeus.

A beautiful species, females are grey/green with orange stripes on the metatarsi and a black abdominal pattern. Males are dimorphic possessing brush setae on the legs and a reduced abdomen pattern. This tarantula is very easy to breed and is consistently captive bred across the hobby by hundreds of individuals. They undergo ontogenetic colour change from spiderlings to adults.

Like most new world arboreals, this tarantula is best housed on coir with a cork bark tube hide and a water bowl. Keep temperatures between 21 and 25 degrees celcius and feed regulaly as they have good appetites.