This species first came into Canada with one of my 1995 US imports. They were the offspring of a recently discovered new "Aphonopelma" species from the rainforests of Southern Mexico (Aphonopelma sp. "Yucatan") and as they grew it became apparent to me that these were in fact a Brachypelma species! With the assistance of a couple of friends of mine and a book by Andrew Smith, I finally concluded that these were, in fact, Brachypelma epicureanum. After viewing subsequent specimens of this rare species, it is clear now that these are indeed the true epicureanums! Essentially, these are all black with red abdomen hairs that curl forward, especially closest to the centre of the abdomen. There is also a large black spot where the red hairs are absent and the carapace possesses a mossy pubescence, causing it to appear much lighter and somewhat golden! They are fairly calm and can easily be handled,only occasionally being bothered sufficiently to kick urticating hairs. Like all Brachypelmas, these are very long lived and females can be expected to live as much as 30 years or more! A rainforest species, these spiders are shallow burrowers and prefer a humidity of about 60 - 80% and a temperature of about 23 C - 27 C (73 F - 81 F) with little seasonal variation