# Heteropoda maxima video



## MaartenSFS (Feb 25, 2011)

Hopefully this hasn't been posted before, but I haven't had much time to follow all of the threads this past year. If not, enjoy!

http://www.wat.tv/video/heteropoda-maxima-1azrc_2hw17_.html


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## Travis K (Feb 25, 2011)

Nice,  Is that or anything close to it available in the states?


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## MaartenSFS (Feb 25, 2011)

Travis K said:


> Nice,  Is that or anything close to it available in the states?


No, it was just recently discovered and not many people have even observed these in the wild yet. There are other huntsmans on the market that are available, do a search and you should be able to find a lot of information.


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## Moltar (Feb 25, 2011)

That is one giant huntsman. Wow. Wow, I say!

I fast forwarded a bit because the language barrier was becoming cumbersome and saw that... he had the spider in a pinch hold! How quick do you have to be to pinch grab a Heteropoda? I'd go back and watch it again, but it's quittin time. Have a great weekend y'allz!


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## The Snark (Feb 25, 2011)

*Gripe*

(Go ahead and yell at me here)
It is nearly always the same. Label the video, 'Two people talking with glimpses of a spider'. When you have such a spectacular specimen, why can't they drop the goofy paparazzi noise and get some measurements. Identify the terrain, depth inside the cave, temperature, humidity and a host of other good solid scientifically helpful facts.


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## revilo (Feb 26, 2011)

The Snark said:


> (Go ahead and yell at me here)
> It is nearly always the same. Label the video, 'Two people talking with glimpses of a spider'. When you have such a spectacular specimen, why can't they drop the goofy paparazzi noise and get some measurements. Identify the terrain, depth inside the cave, temperature, humidity and a host of other good solid scientifically helpful facts.


so you understand the french conversation...

because i wanted to tell : what a pitty that i cant speak/understand french...

but i completly agree with your statement !

cheers, oli


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## Deroplatys (Feb 26, 2011)

Im sure that one they handled is going to do well having only a couple back legs left


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## VinceG (Feb 26, 2011)

Very nice video!

French is my main language, so I understood the video. They explained the difference between an insect and arachnid, how the spiders eat, and some little facts about spiders in general.

Thanks for sharing!


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## revilo (Feb 26, 2011)

thx for explanation of content vince ! :clap:

cheers, oli


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## The Snark (Feb 26, 2011)

*Curmudgeon*

Je comprends assez bien français se demander quand l'aspect scientifique allait commencer.

Just using a magnificent animal to shove a little sensationalism in your face, along with the basic info you could get from studying almost any spider in the world.. Pffftb!

Please accept my apologies for being so negative. I was hoping for some facts, some important relevant information, not exploiting yet another victim.

PS Mon français suce oeufs. mais...


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## VinceG (Feb 26, 2011)

The Snark said:


> Je comprends assez bien français se demander quand l'aspect scientifique allait commencer.
> 
> Just using a magnificent animal to shove a little sensationalism in your face, along with the basic info you could get from studying almost any spider in the world.. Pffftb!
> 
> ...


Haha, I felt the same way as you about the video, too bad they did not talk about this particular species, it would've been way more interresting then listening to them talking about things I already know!


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## MaartenSFS (Feb 26, 2011)

That's disappointing.. this is the only video I have seen of the species and it's THIS..??? Not even any close-ups or action shots. I thought the size of the spiders wasn't that impressive. I wonder if it was anywhere near maximum size or perhaps not even the correct species. I have seen Sparrasidae reaching almost that size myself in China. For the supposed largest species on the planet (LS), I was expecting a bit more. :wall:


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## The Snark (Feb 26, 2011)

I do not wish to hijack this thread but am hoping someone who has properly studied the maxima might happen by and answer some questions. 
In the area just west of the Maekhong river basin we have several different varieties of the heteropoda. I have noted on many occasions these have demonstrated eyesight more acute than a salticid. As example, take maxima's cousin here.





At 6 feet away and directly above it, it reacts to any movement I made.
I have also seen these on the roads at night, reacting to the headlights of a vehicle 50 feet away. 
So the question that immediately springs to mind is, what is the eyesight and sensory ability of the maxima? Does it retain the sensory acuity? Is it simply an evolved form of the more common S.E. Asia like the one pictured, that found itself a nitch in an ecosystem where, with few natural predators and extraordinary sensory abilities it was able to evolve into this formidable size? How far back into the caves does it range? Does it demonstrate other traits acquired from cave dwelling like a tolerance for more humid or dryer air and colder temperatures? What general adaptations has the animal developed different from it's outdoor dwelling relatives? What are it's hunting patterns? The distance it ranges over what period of time?


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## revilo (Feb 27, 2011)

MaartenSFS said:


> That's disappointing.. this is the only video I have seen of the species and it's THIS..??? Not even any close-ups or action shots. I thought the size of the spiders wasn't that impressive. I wonder if it was anywhere near maximum size or perhaps not even the correct species. I have seen Sparrasidae reaching almost that size myself in China. For the supposed largest species on the planet (LS), I was expecting a bit more. :wall:


hi,

you can find on arachnoboards (or/and youtube) a much better vid that shows some activities of dr. peter jäger (senckenberg museum, frankfurt, germany) about this spider !
so far i know HE is the man works first on this species !

bye, oli

---------- Post added at 05:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:33 AM ----------




The Snark said:


> I do not wish to hijack this thread but am hoping someone who has properly studied the maxima might happen by and answer some questions.
> In the area just west of the Maekhong river basin we have several different varieties of the heteropoda. I have noted on many occasions these have demonstrated eyesight more acute than a salticid. As example, take maxima's cousin here.
> 
> 
> ...


hi,

i know this pic since longer time...you posted it before somewhere ?

hmm, i asked nearly the same question on an other (german) forum, dealing with araneamorphae spiders before a year or so...
reason was the behavior of some holconia sp. (sparassidae) i care.
i didn't get answer...
so the only thing i CAN tell is that reactions on visible stimulus i observed a lot of times with my holconias !
for example they run or jump in direction of my face when i get down to look in the terrarium, or my hand if i move it...

my theory is that it's maybe similar like in mantodea, because mantids recognize a far big "thing" as a near small "thing" - their visibility isn't good enough to make a difference between this, but good enough to see that there is something...
only a personal theory to sparassidae without scientific background !
i was looking for scientific articles about the visibility in sparassidae, but i can't remember about result of my search - only that it was not realy succesful...

but 50 feet (about 17 m, isn't it ?), thats a number ! 
maybe open a new thread for this ?!! it's a really interessting question !

i think the same like you about the french vid !

cheers, oli

p.s.: edit because at first i completly misunderstood your message (my english isn't the best...)


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## Deroplatys (Feb 27, 2011)

I've given up watching nature programs, they hardly ever show anything interesting and when they do they hardly speak about it, and plus it annoys me how none of them seem to know how to handle anything properly


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## revilo (Feb 27, 2011)

hi,

you are right - only SPECTACULAR it has to be...
treatment without respect is the standard 

cheers, oli


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## The Snark (Feb 27, 2011)

Oh well. Regardless, thanks to MaartenSFS for posting this thread.

In the interests of getting something useful from all this. The video clearly demonstrates how to not catch spiders unless their health isn't that relevant.

When I go hunting our arachs like the speeding bullet lycosa and sparassids I have a bamboo pole about 6 to 8 feet long that I have attached a 6 to 12 inch square, 3 inch thick pad of upholstery padding to the end of. I try to trap the creature between the pad and a firm surface. It is very soft and can entangle the animal without doing it any harm. Care must be taken to trap the body as just getting a few legs can cause them to break off.

If anyone has any better ways to catch them I would very much like to hear it.

PS Always remember to be extra careful when catching these ultra long legged animals. The legs can easily be bent or crushed resulting in soft tissue damage. This damage may not be visible but can cause the tissue to weaken or slough away inside the exoskeleton and the leg is lost in the next molt.


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## revilo (Feb 28, 2011)

hi,

a net is useful...a net on a stick - don't know any english word for this...

bye, oli

---------- Post added at 01:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:41 AM ----------

p.s.: the snark, who could be able to answer your questions about h. maxima !?
only a few persons ever have observed them, worked on them.
for example, dr. peter jäger from senckenberg museum - he is a professional arachnologist and specialised on sparassidae - he observed the habitat and still evaluate the datas (i think).
so, who else could answer ? 
not a succesful way to ask this here on arachnoboards, i guess.


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## The Snark (Feb 28, 2011)

revilo said:


> hi,
> 
> a net is useful...a net on a stick - don't know any english word for this...
> 
> ...


I have absolutely no idea. Real experts most often specialize and are hesitant to give any info outside of their specialty. The two major universities around here that claimed qualified experts, both 'experts' were only reasonably qualified in general entomology with one improperly identifying a Lyco as a sparassid.


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## MaartenSFS (Mar 2, 2011)

No worries, and free to hijack my threads at any time if the result is stimulating discussion. I also feel like the way that man was capturing a rare species such as this was inappropriate, to say the least..

As usual, Snark, I am jealous of where you live. But this year, perhaps, I will be living in China again, so.. I will contend with it for now..


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## MaartenSFS (Mar 2, 2011)

You were right! This video is much more interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8OL-CQfX0s. They still use the same method to capture the spiders, though. The last specimen at the end is quite impressive.


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## Galapoheros (Mar 3, 2011)

MaartenSFS said:


> No worries, and free to hijack my threads at any time if the result is stimulating discussion. I also feel like the way that man was capturing a rare species such as this was inappropriate, to say the least..
> 
> As usual, Snark, I am jealous of where you live. But this year, perhaps, I will be living in China again, so.. I will contend with it for now..


lol, thanks for the link, it sounded like it was no good but it is the best because of the choices out there, which is next to "0".  These things are bigger that people realize imo.  The size of big Huntsman spiders is hard to capture with pics and vid, something to do with it's design.


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## revilo (Mar 3, 2011)

MaartenSFS said:


> You were right! This video is much more interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8OL-CQfX0s. They still use the same method to capture the spiders, though. The last specimen at the end is quite impressive.


yeah, this was what i mentioned...

yes, way of catching is even rough, but i see a difference in the reason !

this are arachnologiest's which want to do research on this species - with "endtarget" of help them survive !
and methods of science are often even more rough - throw living spiders in alkohol, for example...

but in the first movie reason was only to talk a little bit about spiders in general...

cheers, oli


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## Deroplatys (Mar 3, 2011)

If you need to collect a specimen, wouldnt it make more sense to maybe keep the spider alive replicating its natural environment then just preserving its body once its died of old age?
You could witness its normal behaviour patterens and if you breed them wouldnt be no loss to the natural population.


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## revilo (Mar 3, 2011)

hi,

very ethical question 

i'm not way much in scientific stuff, but i think that simply it's not possible in many cases to keep them first - in other cases it is and a view individuals of the collected ones become a "new home" like you can see in the video, even a lot of scientific articles speak of observations under laboratory conditions, so conclusion is near that this spiders were kept.

cheers, oli


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## The Snark (Mar 6, 2011)

Re the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8OL-CQfX0s
Take note in that video where they sprinkle ant eggs into the dish they are preparing. (At 3:00). That little move made me fantastically sick once. I was given a course of anti venin injections for a rattlesnake bite many years ago. The combination of the serum and the snake bite made me allergic to formic acids (ants, bees and rattlers). I never equated my allergy to ant eggs until it was too late.

The maxima is certainly a beautiful animal. My wife has been coddling a huntsman she has named Freddy who has taken up residence in our bathroom. I made the mistake of showing her the video. She demanded that we get one. And keep it where? In the bathroom, of course! But it will eat Freddy!
Well, train it to be nice.  :wall::?

MaartenSFS, I hope you make it back this way. The Orient is so hard to leave and one always wants to return.


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## revilo (Mar 7, 2011)

hi,

 you was bitten by a rattler - outch !
i heard that anti venoms can cause allergic reactions, but never i heard this on that way...interessting !

i forget to answer your last post, sorry for this :worship:

i have true experts "around" here in gemany, but i don't dare to write them.
i think that they will not answer stupid questions of hobby-arachnologists like me.
but i understand them, because they have better things to do !

one time i was writing a chinese expert for lycosids, but never get answer...

i'm not 100% sure if you was speaking about this (my english... )
maybe you was speaking about that experts don't want to share their work at all ?
because they don't want to offer their results from months/years of work for nothing and specially not to everyone ?!

regards, oli


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## The Snark (Mar 7, 2011)

revilo said:


> hi,
> 
> you was bitten by a rattler - outch !
> i heard that anti venoms can cause allergic reactions, but never i heard this on that way...interessting !
> ...


Getting into why the experts do what is a source for many headaches. Usually they avoid touching on any subject that isn't their specialty. This drives me crazy with Rod Crawford. He only speaks of the Pacific Northwest spiders as a rule, but if you pry hard enough he has a tremendous grasp, generally speaking, of spiders the world over. Let us say he has his comfortable niche in the ecosystem. 

Getting bit by a rattler feels just like a bee sting x 100,000. It has been said, and I agree, cutting off the bitten part with a blunt knife is tempting and probably would hurt less.


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