Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. One may think YouTube has no purpose but to help idlers put off chores they’re meant to be doing by watching videos of kittens chasing their shadows and dogs singing along to Adele, but there is apparently more to the popular video hosting site than at first meets the eye.
A famous wildlife YouTuber from Thailand, JoCho Sippawat, has helped to discover a new species of tarantula – the first kind of this spider to live exclusively in the hollow stems of bamboo stalks. The species has been named taksinus bambus, in honour of the Thai king Taksin the Great, and the spider’s habitat.
The YouTuber, who has 2.5 million followers and was the first to discover the species in Mae Hong Son province in north-western Thailand, was out and about near his home in the village of Mae Tho when he made his discovery.
He got in touch with Dr Narin Chomphuphuang of Khon Kaen University, and Chaowalit Songsangchote of Kasetsart University who then studied the new tarantula and described it. According to the scientists, a lot of Thailand’s wildlife remains undocumented. Who knows – maybe this could be one for your average YouTube idler.
For More News And Analysis About Sierra-Leone Follow Africa-Press
