# Roadcruised T's in Az & Ca (looking for ID's)



## snakebytes (Sep 18, 2011)

I do a lot of road cruising at night for snakes and tarantulas. About 6 months ago I moved to Las Vegas and have been checking out a lot of places near here. I wish I could put a name to some of the species I've been seeing. If you know what they are, let me know.

This is a mature male found in the Mojave National Preserve in San Bernardino Co., Ca in early September 2011. Six individuals were seen in about a 30 minute stretch. All of them looked the same and were mature males. They were pretty small. This one is missing its right pedipalp. 

IMG_0528 by SubjectNature, on Flickr

I found this tarantula in Yavapai county, Arizona in late August of 2011. It was a mature male. While it looks very similar to to the above pictured specimen, it was a lot larger.

IMG_0415 - Copy by SubjectNature, on Flickr

In comparison to the previously posted specimens, I think this one is beautiful. It was also found it Yavapai county, Az. I'm not sure of the sex of this one, only that it was not a mature male. I would say more than 90% of the tarantuals I see crossing roads at night at MM's.

IMG_0475 by SubjectNature, on Flickr

Here is a little bonus. This giant hairy scorpion, _Hadrurus arizonensis_, Was found hanging in a web from a garage door. The garage door is typically covered in black widows, their egg sacs, and their webs. At first I thought the scorpion was dead. However, it was alive, but very weak and slow to react. I used a couple forceps to clean off all the thick webbing and put the scorpion in an ICU with a moist paper towel. I didn't have a whole lot of hope for it since it was not able to hold up or move its tail. I have no idea how long it had been caught in the web, but it must have been a while. A few days later it was much more alert and responsive. A day after that it ate a cricket and I released it the next day.


Booby Trap Scorpion by SubjectNature, on Flickr


IMG_0270 by SubjectNature, on Flickr


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## Texas Blonde (Oct 4, 2011)

The third picture looks like _Aphonopelma chalcodes_ to me.


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## scorpistung (Oct 6, 2011)

Wow, this thread brings back memories from my PHX days. i was stung by that sucker in the last picture the last time I was in the desert. Mixed emotions seeing that pic, I'm more of a spider guy myself.


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## Tarantula_Tamer (Oct 6, 2011)

yeah, Aphonopelma chalcodes for the third picture..
The first is most likely Aphonopelma iodius, though i have never seen that carapace pattern/color.

The scorpion looks like a Hadrurus arizonensis spadix, the black phase desert hairy.


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## tarcan (Oct 13, 2011)

lovely picture on #3

the scorpion in the web is impressive, great find!


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