Science & Tech · Animal Classification & Physiology
The concept being tested: Arachnid species — characteristics and habitat classification.
Regarding Peacock tarantula (Gooty tarantula), consider the following statements: I. It is an omnivorous crustacean. II. Its natural habitat in India is only limited to some forest areas. III. In its natural habitat, it is an arboreal species. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Gooty tarantula, scientifically Poecilotheria metallica, is a spider, and all spiders belong to class Arachnida, not Crustacea. Arachnids are eight-legged predators that trap and feed on insects and small invertebrates, so calling one omnivorous is also wrong, which rules out the statement built on that claim. This species is a striking case of extreme endemism: it was first collected near Gooty in Andhra Pradesh and is known only from a handful of forest patches in that state, chiefly relict tropical forest around the Nallamala hills, so its Indian range is genuinely confined to a few forest areas. Like other Poecilotheria species, it is arboreal, sheltering and hunting inside tree-bark crevices and hollows rather than in burrows on the ground. Since the habitat-restriction claim and the arboreal claim both hold while the crustacean claim fails, the statements naming its restricted range and tree-dwelling habit together form the correct set.
What UPSC was testing
The question tests whether aspirants know a tarantula is an arachnid, not a crustacean, a basic classification trap dressed up in an obscure species name; it also rewards knowing that Poecilotheria metallica is a narrowly endemic, tree-dwelling spider rather than a widespread ground species.
How often this comes up
This concept has appeared 14 times in UPSC Prelims General Studies Paper I between 2015 and 2025 — in 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
The option-by-option autopsy for this question — why each of the other three is wrong, and which neighbouring concept each one was built from — is in the app.