The legs and palps are bluish black with three distinctly colored rings: dark reddish orange on the part of the patellae closest to the body with light yellowish pink further away, pale yellowish pink on the lower part of the tibiae, and pinkish white at the end of the metatarsi.

When viewed from above, the chelicerae of B. hamorii have two brownish pink bands on a greyish background, not visible on all individuals.

That of B. smithi is straighter with a broad spoon shape when viewed retrolaterally and a wider keel at the apex.

In 2017, Mendoza and Francke showed that although B. smithi and B. hamorii are similar in superficial external appearance, they are clearly distinguished both by some finer aspects of morphology and by their DNA barcodes, although the supposed species B. annitha is nested within B. smithii.

The deep burrows keep them protected from predators, like the white-nosed coati, and enable them to ambush passing prey, such as large insects, frogs and mice.

The tunnel, usually about three times the tarantula's leg span in length, leads to a chamber which is large enough for the spider to safely molt.

When the tarantula needs privacy, e.g. when molting or laying eggs, the entrance is sealed with silk, sometimes supplemented with soil and leaves.

[7] In 1985, B. smithi (then not distinguished from B. hamorii) was placed on CITES Appendix II, and in 1994, all remaining Brachypelma species were added.

[8] Large numbers of Mexican redknee tarantulas caught in the wild continue to be smuggled out of Mexico.