About tarantula hybridization

[paccen]

Today I saw a post on BBS in China, saying that some bird-catching spiders of B genus and HY genus are all hybrids. I was so surprised, I told them that hybridization would lead to species extinction, they told me that everyone did it. I am very curious about the questions related to the hybridization of tarantulas, and hope to get professional answers quickly.

 

[jrh3]

Today I saw a post on BBS in China, saying that some bird-catching spiders of B genus and HY genus are all hybrids. I was so surprised, I told them that hybridization would lead to species extinction, they told me that everyone did it. I am very curious about the questions related to the hybridization of tarantulas, and hope to get professional answers quickly.

Hybridization is frowned upon. I dont think anyone here supports it. Yes in the wild under rare circumstances it could happen but not worth messing up an already beautiful species.

 

[The Seraph]

Today I saw a post on BBS in China, saying that some bird-catching spiders of B genus and HY genus are all hybrids. I was so surprised, I told them that hybridization would lead to species extinction, they told me that everyone did it. I am very curious about the questions related to the hybridization of tarantulas, and hope to get professional answers quickly.

Hybridization is very, very frowned upon here. It sometimes happenes but is still frowned upon. The opinion of it may be of a different mind in China though.

 

[paccen]

Hybridization is frowned upon. I dont think anyone here supports it. Yes in the wild under rare circumstances it could happen but not worth messing up an already beautiful species.

I also do not support hybridization, how should I tell them the harm of hybridization

 

[jrh3]

I also do not support hybridization, how should I tell them the harm of hybridization

Most people that want to do it wont listen anyways, hopefully they have unsuccessful egg sacks, I think it will be hard for them to create something new anyways that will survive to be able to breed again.

 

[paccen]

Most people that want to do it wont listen anyways, hopefully they have unsuccessful egg sacks, I think it will be hard for them to create something new anyways that will survive to be able to breed again.

Thank you. I can't change anything. I'm sorry

 

[jrh3]

Thank you. I can't change anything. I'm sorry

No worries, the good hobbyists, outweigh the bad.

 

[paccen]

Hybridization is very, very frowned upon here. It sometimes happenes but is still frowned upon. The opinion of it may be of a different mind in China though.

thanks

 

[Bob Lee]

Hybridization is very, very frowned upon here. It sometimes happenes but is still frowned upon. The opinion of it may be of a different mind in China though.

It's still frowned upon

 

[cold blood]

The hybridization of 2 species doesnt create a new species (as many of these people would like to believe), instead it forever ends the bloodlines of both species, and every subsequent breeding after that has a compounding effect.

Hybridization can eventually lead to the loss of entire species....theres no un doing hybridization.

Its a, if not the, biggest potential hobby disaster as we rely on captive breeding, and our stock is more limited and hybrids are not always easily distinguished.

People also really overestimate the frequency at which it happens in the wild. Its quite the rarity.

 

[paccen]

The hybridization of 2 species doesnt create a new species (as many of these people would like to believe), instead it forever ends the bloodlines of both species, and every subsequent breeding after that has a compounding effect.

Hybridization can eventually lead to the loss of entire species....theres no un doing hybridization.

Its a, if not the, biggest potential hobby disaster as we rely on captive breeding, and our stock is more limited and hybrids are not always easily distinguished.

People also really overestimate the frequency at which it happens in the wild. Its quite the rarity.

Sure enough, hybridization led to species extinction

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Today I saw a post on BBS in China, saying that some bird-catching spiders of B genus and HY genus are all hybrids. I was so surprised, I told them that hybridization would lead to species extinction, they told me that everyone did it. I am very curious about the questions related to the hybridization of tarantulas, and hope to get professional answers quickly.

When it comes to breeding tarantulas in captivity, the foundation of a good breeding program is identification to species level. When a statement is made that all tarantulas from certain genera are hybrids, it implies that the parent species were correctly identified to species level and there is knowledge that two different species were knowingly bred and produced viable offspring. That is tough to take seriously considering how difficult it is to identify tarantulas to species and even more so when there are numerous species that are not well defined. Meaning, there are no identification keys for a number of species one to use to reliably make an identification. Another consideration is the number of tarantulas that end up in the pet trade which are not known to science. Tarantulas are a difficult group of animals to work with when it comes to breeding because there are so many species that look the same and have the same characteristics and can't be identified. There are some species of Grammostola and Aphonopelma, for example, that really can not be told apart without performing a DNA analysis.

Knowingly pairing two different species of tarantulas for the purpose of producing hybrid offspring to keep as pets has the potential to make an already confusing situation even worse when it comes to knowing what you have in your collection. As previously stated, tarantulas are difficult to identify to species which causes confusion as to what species we actually have in the hobby and the introduction of hybrids into a breeding population will make it even worse. For casual pet tarantula keepers, hybrids are not a concern. There is really no reason why a hybrid won't make as good a pet as a pure species. Only for those who have a serious interest in tarantulas, hybrids become a problem. The introduction of confirmed hybrids renders any potential for breeding projects by serious tarantula keepers a useless endeavor. Without the ability to determine a pure species from a hybrid, one can't ethically breed. Over time, hybrids have the potential to replace pure species causing them to disappear. The statement "hybridization would lead to species extinction" should be followed with "in the hobby." Unless those who produce hybrids knowingly release them into the same habitat the parents came from, hybrids will have no impact to wild populations and thus will not cause extinction.

All roads when it comes to discussing captive breeding and hybrids comes back to making a reliable identification of the species being bred. As far as I can tell, those who have the best intentions when breeding tarantulas for the hobby do not have the skills to make identifications. It is a bit humorous to read many questions on this forum from people posting pictures of their tarantula and asking for an identification then receive multiple responses based on the picture. Those who claim hybrids are bad for the hobby, but at the same time can't tell you the process involved in making a determination of a species, should not be the people breeding tarantulas. Even the most well intentioned, anti-hybrid tarantula breeder has the potential to create hybrids if the skill to make a reliable species identification is not present.

 

[paccen]

When it comes to breeding tarantulas in captivity, the foundation of a good breeding program is identification to species level. When a statement is made that all tarantulas from certain genera are hybrids, it implies that the parent species were correctly identified to species level and there is knowledge that two different species were knowingly bred and produced viable offspring. That is tough to take seriously considering how difficult it is to identify tarantulas to species and even more so when there are numerous species that are not well defined. Meaning, there are no identification keys for a number of species one to use to reliably make an identification. Another consideration is the number of tarantulas that end up in the pet trade which are not known to science. Tarantulas are a difficult group of animals to work with when it comes to breeding because there are so many species that look the same and have the same characteristics and can't be identified. There are some species of Grammostola and Aphonopelma, for example, that really can not be told apart without performing a DNA analysis.

Knowingly pairing two different species of tarantulas for the purpose of producing hybrid offspring to keep as pets has the potential to make an already confusing situation even worse when it comes to knowing what you have in your collection. As previously stated, tarantulas are difficult to identify to species which causes confusion as to what species we actually have in the hobby and the introduction of hybrids into a breeding population will make it even worse. For casual pet tarantula keepers, hybrids are not a concern. There is really no reason why a hybrid won't make as good a pet as a pure species. Only for those who have a serious interest in tarantulas, hybrids become a problem. The introduction of confirmed hybrids renders any potential for breeding projects by serious tarantula keepers a useless endeavor. Without the ability to determine a pure species from a hybrid, one can't ethically breed. Over time, hybrids have the potential to replace pure species causing them to disappear. The statement "hybridization would lead to species extinction" should be followed with "in the hobby." Unless those who produce hybrids knowingly release them into the same habitat the parents came from, hybrids will have no impact to wild populations and thus will not cause extinction.

All roads when it comes to discussing captive breeding and hybrids comes back to making a reliable identification of the species being bred. As far as I can tell, those who have the best intentions when breeding tarantulas for the hobby do not have the skills to make identifications. It is a bit humorous to read many questions on this forum from people posting pictures of their tarantula and asking for an identification then receive multiple responses based on the picture. Those who claim hybrids are bad for the hobby, but at the same time can't tell you the process involved in making a determination of a species, should not be the people breeding tarantulas. Even the most well intentioned, anti-hybrid tarantula breeder has the potential to create hybrids if the skill to make a reliable species identification is not present.

First of all, thank you for your very careful analysis of the problem and then reply to me. Now, I need to understand the article with the help of Google, which may take a long time. English is really a barrier between us. Thank you very much.

 

[dangerforceidle]

First of all, thank you for your very careful analysis of the problem and then reply to me. Now, I need to understand the article with the help of Google, which may take a long time. English is really a barrier between us. Thank you very much.

Your willingness to learn is very admirable.

 

[paccen]

Your willingness to learn is very admirable.

its everyday。haha