This species was first possibly imported into the U.S. hobby in the late 1990's. It was imported again in late 2006/early 2007. Very little is known about these Panamanian terrestrials. Sericopelma spp. are very rare in our hobby. Freshly-molted, this species is very impressive with it's size and fairly large size. Scientific description author and date: Ausserer, 1875 Range: Panama. Possibly other surrounding countries of Central America. Type: Opportunistic burrower/wanderling terrestrial. Color/pattern/appearance: Overall black with long, bright red adominal hairs. Stocky build. Maximum size: 7"-8 " legspan is possible in this species. Temperature: 78F-85F day. No lower than 60F at night. Humidity: 80% Tank setup: Adults can be housed in 5- 10 gal. tanks with 4"-6" deep "Cocosoft" substrate or peat moss, shallow and wide water dish. Cork bark or resin plastic shelter. Feeding requirements: Spiderlings/juvs twice a week med. cricket (1-2). Sub-adults/adults once a week large cricket (2-3), roaches (1-2) or pinkie mouse or rat pup. Water requirements: Mist tank 1-2 times a week with fine water mist to keep humidity around 80%. Change water dish whenever fouled or at least 1-2 times a week. Disposition: Aggressive. Do not free handle. Will kick urticating hairs, go into threat display and bite if distrurbed. Venom effects: Unknown. Assumed to be medically insignificant though like most tarantulas. Growth rate: Fast. Males mature in 1.5 yrs. Females in 2.5-3 yrs. Breeding remarks: None. This is very little info on breeding this Genus. Number of eggs: Unknown.