# Tarantulas in Jamaica



## Advert (Feb 5, 2011)

Hi there,

before I begin I apologize to the moderators if I have placed this topic in the wrong sub forum.

Just recently I have taken a keen interest in tarantulas and would like to get one and to get into the hobby. Sadly I have an obstacle facing me in terms of acquiring one. I currently live in Jamaica and literally no one keeps tarantulas here so the hobby is not present at all for me to get one here. So I have been looking at the laws here for bringing one into the country and the laws are very spotty in terms of importing/bringing it into the country. My question to you arachnoboards is would I be able to carry a juvenile tarantula with me on an airplane in a critter keeper back into Jamaica? I'm not completely sure if you're allowed to bring one on an airplane and would like to know what you guys think!

Regards,

Advert.


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## xhexdx (Feb 5, 2011)

That's something you're better off contacting Jamaican airlines about.  When you fly to Hawaii, they make you fill out forms asking if you have certain items (raw fruits or vegetables, snakes, bacterial cultures, insects, etc.), and I would assume they'd do the same for Jamaica and any of the other (sub)tropical islands.

My personal opinion though is no, they would not allow you to bring one in on an airplane.


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## Poxicator (Feb 5, 2011)

Sorry, I know this doesnt answer your question but...

You used to have tarantula in Jamaica, Cyrtopholis jamaicola, but they are thought to be extinct now due to the introduction of the Mongoose.


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## Advert (Feb 5, 2011)

xhexdx said:


> That's something you're better off contacting Jamaican airlines about.  When you fly to Hawaii, they make you fill out forms asking if you have certain items (raw fruits or vegetables, snakes, bacterial cultures, insects, etc.), and I would assume they'd do the same for Jamaica and any of the other (sub)tropical islands.
> 
> My personal opinion though is no, they would not allow you to bring one in on an airplane.


Thanks for the reply so quickly! Surprisingly of all the times I've flown back and forth from here to the states we've never had to fill out something like that. I've been scrounging around the internet and so far only found things pertaining to things such as dogs, cats, birds etc. I'll make sure to call one of the airlines here and ask them. I know for one thing you can import practically anything here when you obtain the proper license, but I'm pretty sure a tarantula wouldn't live too long being shipped so far. 

Regards,

Advert.


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## xhexdx (Feb 5, 2011)

Where were you thinking of having it shipped from?  You're not really too far from the States...


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## Advert (Feb 5, 2011)

xhexdx said:


> Where were you thinking of having it shipped from?  You're not really too far from the States...


Mainly Florida or any state neighboring Florida, but I'm defiantly picking Florida due to the time taken to get to Jamaica from other states.


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## elysium (Dec 11, 2016)

Hate to resurrect a dead thread, and hijack it at the same time, but it seemed like the appropriate place to ask. I am currently on vacation in Negril in this lovely island and i actually asked a couple locals if they had ever seen any. Both laughed at me saying they know the island like the back of their hand and they've never seen any tarantulas. I was kinda surprised as I would've thought there would be at least a few species that are native to Jamaica. Does anyone know of any? If yes, in which locality/part of the island would they be found?


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## TownesVanZandt (Dec 11, 2016)

elysium said:


> Hate to resurrect a dead thread, and hijack it at the same time, but it seemed like the appropriate place to ask. I am currently on vacation in Negril in this lovely island and i actually asked a couple locals if they had ever seen any. Both laughed at me saying they know the island like the back of their hand and they've never seen any tarantulas. I was kinda surprised as I would've thought there would be at least a few species that are native to Jamaica. Does anyone know of any? If yes, in which locality/part of the island would they be found?


There are no tarantulas at Jamaica.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## dopamine (Dec 11, 2016)

Geez I need to brush up on my geography. I thought Trinidad was in Jamaica and was about to suggest P. Cambridgei. Whoops.


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## advan (Dec 11, 2016)

elysium said:


> Hate to resurrect a dead thread, and hijack it at the same time, but it seemed like the appropriate place to ask. I am currently on vacation in Negril in this lovely island and i actually asked a couple locals if they had ever seen any. Both laughed at me saying they know the island like the back of their hand and they've never seen any tarantulas. I was kinda surprised as I would've thought there would be at least a few species that are native to Jamaica. Does anyone know of any? If yes, in which locality/part of the island would they be found?


If _Cyrtopholis jamaicola _has not been wiped out, I would look in and around Montego Bay. It is the type locality for the species. Due to tourism and all the resorts being built, I would check the hills just south of the bay. Good luck and bring your camera just in case you're successful.


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## elysium (Dec 12, 2016)

advan said:


> If _Cyrtopholis jamaicola _has not been wiped out, I would look in and around Montego Bay. It is the type locality for the species. Due to tourism and all the resorts being built, I would check the hills just south of the bay. Good luck and bring your camera just in case you're successful.


Thanks! I actually found another reference pointing to this same species when i was googling the topic, and they made mention of it being extinct. The introduction of mongooses along with construction were the reasons they mentioned. Apparently mongooses took a larger toll than expected and are now everywhere, and the locals seem to really dislike them from the conversations I've had with them lol.


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## Chris LXXIX (Dec 12, 2016)

Yup, exist a Theraphosinae sp. hasta ganja rasta

Reactions: Funny 3 | Love 1


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## Ryan Lincoln (Nov 26, 2018)

Hi everyone,
I'm always looking for wildlife to take photos, especially macros for insects. I came across a spider I have never seen before, while hiking in the Blue mountains. So, while on the net doing research to figure out what kind of spider it is, i came across this forum. 

The closest spider this specimen resembles is a tarantula (I am no expert, so forgive me if i am far off). Head to abdomen, it was about 2 inches.
It was quite docile, as it allowed me to get really close to it without it freaking out.

So, what specie is this? Could it be a Jamaican Tarantula?


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## EtienneN (Nov 26, 2018)

Definitely some kind of Mygalomorph. Maybe a tarantula? Crusty old mature male for sure.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## SonsofArachne (Nov 27, 2018)

Ryan Lincoln said:


> So, what specie is this? Could it be a Jamaican Tarantula?


Does appear to be a T species, but I'm no expert. If it is a T, you either rediscovered a thought-to-be-extinct species (Cyrtopholis jamaicola) or a new species, or someone released a T from somewhere else. There, that narrows it down.


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## Ryan Lincoln (Nov 27, 2018)

SonsofArachne said:


> Does appear to be a T species, but I'm no expert. If it is a T, you either rediscovered a thought-to-be-extinct species (Cyrtopholis jamaicola) or a new species, or someone released a T from somewhere else. There, that narrows it down.


So, if it's a new species... do i get to name it?
Jokes aside, thanks for this info. I cant seem to find much data on Cyrtopholis Jamaicola except for tons of scientific naming jargons. I may defer to the institute of Jamaica Natural History dept. see if they have a specimen I can match it against.

Reactions: Like 1 | Creative 1


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## antinous (Nov 27, 2018)

Ryan Lincoln said:


> So, if it's a new species... do i get to name it?
> Jokes aside, thanks for this info. I cant seem to find much data on Cyrtopholis Jamaicola except for tons of scientific naming jargons. I may defer to the institute of Jamaica Natural History dept. see if they have a specimen I can match it against.


There are some people you can send the photo to, if you want, I can show the photo and ask some friends on FB and since they study tarantulas they can possibly give a better answer


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## SonsofArachne (Nov 27, 2018)

Ryan Lincoln said:


> Hi everyone,
> I'm always looking for wildlife to take photos, especially macros for insects. I came across a spider I have never seen before, while hiking in the Blue mountains. So, while on the net doing research to figure out what kind of spider it is, i came across this forum.
> 
> The closest spider this specimen resembles is a tarantula (I am no expert, so forgive me if i am far off). Head to abdomen, it was about 2 inches.
> ...


You should probably re-post this as a new thread in http://arachnoboards.com/forums/tarantula-questions-discussions.2/ - you'd likely get it noticed more, a lot of people on here don't like resurrected old threads and won't respond to them.


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## Ryan Lincoln (Nov 28, 2018)

antinous said:


> There are some people you can send the photo to, if you want, I can show the photo and ask some friends on FB and since they study tarantulas they can possibly give a better answer


Please do. I would like to get more answers.
Thank you so much!


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## Ryan Lincoln (Nov 28, 2018)

SonsofArachne said:


> You should probably re-post this as a new thread in http://arachnoboards.com/forums/tarantula-questions-discussions.2/ - you'd likely get it noticed more, a lot of people on here don't like resurrected old threads and won't respond to them.


Good idea! I followed your advice. The new thread can be found here: http://arachnoboards.com/threads/is-this-cyrtopholis-jamaicola-or-a-new-specie.313905/

Reactions: Agree 1


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## antinous (Nov 28, 2018)

Ryan Lincoln said:


> Please do. I would like to get more answers.
> Thank you so much!


Do you have any other photos by any chance?


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## Ryan Lincoln (Nov 28, 2018)

antinous said:


> Do you have any other photos by any chance?


I do, but they are pretty much from the same angles. I was trying to get good macro shots.

BTW, I started a thread on this over at http://arachnoboards.com/threads/is-this-cyrtopholis-jamaicola-or-a-new-specie.313905/#post-2866280


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