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Hidden inside a long stem of bamboo, a wildlife fan made a surprising discovery!

JoCho Sippawat, who has 2.5 million YouTube subscribers, found a tarantula hiding in the bamboo while trekking through a forest in northwestern Thailand.

Realising this was no ordinary spider, he sent a snap of the eight-legged critter to arachnologist Narin Comphuphuang.

Narin was shocked at JoCho's find and after a trip to study the spider, confirmed it was in fact a new species of tarantula!

The tarantula has now been given a name - Taksinus bambus - in honour of a Thai king called Taksin the Great.

"These animals are truly remarkable; they are the first known tarantulas ever with a bamboo-based ecology," Narin said.

Turns out that making a home in bamboo can give a tarantula a lot of advantages.

Not only is it a protective home to build a nest in, the slippery, damp insides of bamboo can protect tarantulas from predators and help it shed its exoskeleton.

The tarantulas use cracks in the stems caused by animals and changes in humidity to get inside.

Niran said that there may be many animal and plant species in Thailand that are yet to be discovered.

And this newly discovered species of tarantula may just be the tip of the iceberg.

"We're primarily on a mission to study and save the biodiversity and wildlife found in these forests, particularly species-specific microhabitats, from extinction," he said.

He hopes that the more that is discovered in Thailands forests, the better protected they will become to ensure that these species continue to thrive.

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