Brachypelma Boehmei hybridization??

[Taboo Exotics]

I've been getting mixed answers for this girl but want to put it to rest already... does this girl look like a hybrid or pure boehmei?

 

[dangerforceidle]

Can you get a photo of the metatarsal segment from a front view? True B. boehmei will have a black 'lightning bolt' stripe on the metatarsus, whereas B. baumgarteni and hybrids between the two will have a lighter or orange coloured stripe.

 

[Taboo Exotics]

Can you get a photo of the metatarsal segment from a front view? True B. boehmei will have a black 'lightning bolt' stripe on the metatarsus, whereas B. baumgarteni and hybrids between the two will have a lighter or orange coloured stripe.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Can you get a photo of the metatarsal segment from a front view? True B. boehmei will have a black 'lightning bolt' stripe on the metatarsus, whereas B. baumgarteni and hybrids between the two will have a lighter or orange coloured stripe.

That's not always true. See the following link for pictures of wild Brachypelma boehmei from iNaturalist. Click

The only way to know if you have a hybrid Brachypelma boehmei X Brachypelma sp. is if the breeder tells you. There are no reliable characteristics of hybridization to look for.

 

[Taboo Exotics]

That's not always true. See the following link for pictures of wild Brachypelma boehmei from iNaturalist. Click

The only way to know if you have a hybrid Brachypelma boehmei X Brachypelma sp. is if the breeder tells you. There are no reliable characteristics of hybridization to look for.

Interesting! The person I got her from definitely said pure boehmei but I started reading alot of articles about hybrids being sold as true species. Thanks for the link

 

[dangerforceidle]

That's not always true. See the following link for pictures of wild Brachypelma boehmei from iNaturalist. Click

The only way to know if you have a hybrid Brachypelma boehmei X Brachypelma sp. is if the breeder tells you. There are no reliable characteristics of hybridization to look for.

Hmm, interesting. I was basing my info from several posts Jose has made on the topic, such as the following links:

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/brachypelma-baumgarteni-vs-brachypelma-boehmei.295564/
https://www.tarantulasoftheworld.com/brachypelma-baumgarteni-boehmei/

What about characteristics found in a shed exuvia, like spermathecae shape as an example?

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

What about characteristics found in a shed exuvia, like spermathecae shape as an example?

Hard to say. Without knowing all of the possible variations of the spermathecae in B. boehmei and B. baumgarteni it will be difficult to know if the spermathecae of a confirmed hybrid would match either species or will appear as a mix of the two. What makes identifying hybrids using physical characteristics tricky is the possibility that it could appear to be a natural variation of either parent species. There is also a possibility that the papal bub morphology could fit a variation of one of the parent species while the female has the characters of the other. If that were the case, you wouldn't know unless you raised two or more confirmed hybrids to maturity, killed them, then kept them as references for study. But that is all hypothetical though.

The above is exactly the reason I am not buying into the ready identification of hybrids based on color shade from pictures. Judging by the pictures of wild B. boehmei and B. baumgarteni from iNaturalist, both species are very distinct compared side-by-side but b. boehmei at least shows some variation in shades of orange-red that match many supposed hybrids in the pet trade.

 

[Tenebrarius]

could be a variant type, alternative locality forms aren't uncommon. and boehmei has far enough populations to generate diversity. maybe you breeder bred hybrid Ts not knowingly, its not that important anyways.

 

[dangerforceidle]

Hard to say. Without knowing all of the possible variations of the spermathecae in B. boehmei and B. baumgarteni it will be difficult to know if the spermathecae of a confirmed hybrid would match either species or will appear as a mix of the two. What makes identifying hybrids using physical characteristics tricky is the possibility that it could appear to be a natural variation of either parent species. There is also a possibility that the papal bub morphology could fit a variation of one of the parent species while the female has the characters of the other. If that were the case, you wouldn't know unless you raised two or more confirmed hybrids to maturity, killed them, then kept them as references for study. But that is all hypothetical though.

The above is exactly the reason I am not buying into the ready identification of hybrids based on color shade from pictures. Judging by the pictures of wild B. boehmei and B. baumgarteni from iNaturalist, both species are very distinct compared side-by-side but b. boehmei at least shows some variation in shades of orange-red that match many supposed hybrids in the pet trade.

That makes sense, thanks for your input.