My dad saved this tarantula from a parking lot at his local Safeway. He lives in northern Arizona, and has seen many tarantulas like this throughout his life, but never knew the species. We know it's a male, but not much else.
@Vanessa Yeah, he's a pretty cool old hippy. Couldn't stand to watch it get run over. Not sure how he got it back home exactly, but he's been feeding it and giving it water. Thing was super skinny and dehydrated when he found it. Was probably looking for water when it strolled into town.
Aphonopelma is the only genus native to the US to my knowledge, so it is definitely that (unless Mexican species' males wander really far ). @Smokehound714, @TrapdoorSpiderLover, and @AphonopelmaTX can likely give a more conclusive ID.
@TheUnfleshedOne He is a mature male at the end of his life. He won't be around that much longer. Mature males voluntarily stop eating and drinking at one point. It's best to let him on his way, once he has found a safer spot for him.
Aphonopelma is the only native genera to the states. My guess would be an Aphonopelma chalcodes mature male, but it could be another Aphonopelma species.
That is Aphonpelma chalcodes, which is endemic to Arizona. A. hentzi typicaly has a darker, more mute brown tone in the abdomen, but it also depends on whether there has been a recent molt. Also, A. hentzi typically doesn't do quite as well in the desert environment, and it would be unusual, though not impossible, to find one in Arizona.
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