\u201cThe species we share our planet with are truly extraordinary,\u201d said Kristian Teleki, CEO, Fauna & Flora, in a release emailed to IFLScience. \u201cFrom the most peculiar of rays, to the majestic falcon, to the tulips we buy in our supermarkets each day, every plant and animal plays a unique and essential role in sustaining life on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut time is running out. With less than five years to go until 2030, a guiding star for many global nature and climate goals, we can no longer afford to delay action to protect and restore our planet\u2019s natural wonders. The pressures facing nature are severe, and species populations are declining at an alarming rate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cilantica devamatha \u2013\u00a0A funky arachnid facing eviction<\/p>\n
Sought-after species can’t help being fabulous.<\/p>\n
Image credit: \u00a9 Mithun M. Das \/ CLP<\/p>\n
In the tropical forests of the southern Western Ghats in Kerala, India, a female-led team of spider<\/a> experts are getting behind one of the region\u2019s most unusual native species. The region\u2019s tropical forests are the only place on Earth this species call home. Or at least, that\u2019s how it\u2019s supposed to be.<\/p>\n The illegal pet trade has zoned in on these tarantulas, and it\u2019s easy to see why. They have a very funky get-up, sporting vibrant and metallic iridescence that no doubt looks very cool in a terrarium, but it\u2019s much more badass in the wild.<\/p>\n Psychedelic earth tigers are also at risk from habitat loss and degradation. They live in deep burrows in forest soils, only emerging at night to hunt, but their suitable habitat is shrinking due to human activity.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a precarious position for a species that was only described in 2014<\/a>. Unfortunately, new-to-science species already facing extinction at the time of their discovery is an increasingly common trend among animals<\/a> and plants<\/a>.<\/p>\n