Lady Luck - C. schioedtei

Mar 18, 2004

• #1

Windycity

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The continuing molt series.

Looks like lady luck has smiled again. Although it’s a bit hard to tell with an exuvia as tattered as an old Allman Brothers album cover.

C. schioedtei – 4.25” pre-molt.

Anyone else noticed that the molts from their dryer climate species like the Brachy’s have substantially thicker shed skins as compared to the high humidity climate species which usually have very thin fragile tissue. Makes sense.

 

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Mar 19, 2004

• #2

Windycity

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Hey Tony,

Yes, this is one of the pet trade thorelli's and yes they are sexually dimorphic. The current coloration as seen in fringe hairs on the shed pic also supports a female determination.

Are you saying your male began to show his green coloration at about the 4” mark?

 

Mar 19, 2004

• #3

LaRiz

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Actually, they show a difference quite early. In a ventral aspect, males have a green sternum and females will have a darker coloration, being brown to black. As females grow, the sternum gets darker, eventually turning black. The same goes for the legs. Legs in males are greenish, in females they're brown--and as they grow, the darker the legs get...eventually turning black.
Pictured is a 3.5" male.
john

 

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Mar 19, 2004

• #4

Windycity

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Thanks for the info John. I had always assumed CS males didn’t begin to change until close to or at ultimate instar. Any idea if any of the other commonly known dimorphic species (P. antinous, P. cancerides, etc.) begin to exibit their color shifts well before sexual maturity?

 

Mar 19, 2004

• #5

Malhavoc's

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Very colourful tarantula! never seen a green one Is there a cobalt Green tarantula lol. I never new tarantulas were sexualy dimorphic intresting indeed any idea at what the colour differences serve I'm sure htey didn't evolve that way for us to know the difference

 

Mar 19, 2004

• #6

LaRiz

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Originally posted by Malhavoc's
Very colourful tarantula! never seen a green one

Click to expand...

...well here's my excuse to post a pic of a matured male. This is my favorite pic. Too bad they don't live forever. Check the extra long pedipalps.
john

@windycity, I can't think of any other species that are sexually dimorphic at early stages as Cyriopagopus schioedtei is, at the moment, but I'm sure someone will.

 

Mar 19, 2004

• #7

Lopez

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And here's a 2" female.

And here is the same female at 4". Compare to John's picture

 

Mar 19, 2004

• #8

Ultimate Instar

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LaRiz wrote:
<<Actually, they show a difference quite early. In a ventral aspect, males have a green sternum and females will have a darker coloration, being brown to black. As females grow, the sternum gets darker, eventually turning black. >>

John, from looking at Leon's picture, it appears that the carapace/sternum got lighter in color as she grew. Could you explain your statement a little more?

Karen N.

 

Mar 19, 2004

• #9

LaRiz

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Originally posted by Ultimate Instar
John, from looking at Leon's picture, it appears that the carapace/sternum got lighter in color as she grew. Could you explain your statement a little more?

Karen N.

Click to expand...

Sure. I was speaking of the ventral (underneath) aspect (sternum). Males have a green sternum and females have dark brown to black ones. Leon's fine pictures showcases the transformation of a dark spiderling to one that is sexable. Both male and female spiderlings will have a dark carapace, turning green as they grow.
Hope this helps.
john

 

Mar 19, 2004

• #10

Ultimate Instar

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LaRiz, thanks for the reply. When you said sternum, I thought you meant the dorsal part.

Karen N.

 

Mar 20, 2004

• #11

Lopez

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Originally posted by Ultimate Instar
LaRiz, thanks for the reply. When you said sternum, I thought you meant the dorsal part.

Karen N.

Click to expand...

As John quite correctly says, in the first picture she isn't really sexable. The front pairs of legs are starting to go bottle green (eventually black) - if they were remaining the same colour as the back legs at this stage I'd expect a male.

The sternum (ie the ventral side of the cephalothorax) really does get black quite early in the females - about the 3" mark IIRC.