# White Lady Spider!



## Tarantula_Tamer (May 24, 2012)

So, today i just so happened to get ahold of what looks like a "white lady spider" (leucorchestris arenicola)? I'm not exactly an expert on true spiders..

I was told that the spider was brought in from Africa or the Middle East, and that the people had no clue what it was... So i bought it.

I'll post better pics ASAP.


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## Tarantula_Tamer (May 24, 2012)



Reactions: Like 1


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## leoman777 (May 25, 2012)

African White Huntsman?


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## jbm150 (May 25, 2012)

Wow, pretty spider, good stuff!


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## Ciphor (May 25, 2012)

It is definitely a white lady spider, but which one... 

Could be: _Leucorchestris arenicola_ (white lady spider)
Or could be: _Carparachne aureoflava_ (white lady spider, wheel spider)

I think the easiest way to tell the two apart are the hairs. I believe, but not 100% certain, that _L. arenicola_ has white hairs on legs, while _C. aureoflava_ has black hairs.

I think the eye arrangement looks more like _L. arenicola_ too.

---------- Post added 05-25-2012 at 01:06 PM ----------

Here is a reference if you would like to compare. http://jeb.biologists.org/content/211/5/816.figures-only

The anterior eye row on your spider looks procurved instead of recurved, which makes it not looks like _L. arenicola_ however, I have a feeling that is the camera playing tricks.

You can get a much better look yourself then I ever could from a photo.

Hope that link helps confirm!


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## Tarantula_Tamer (May 25, 2012)

---------- Post added 05-25-2012 at 11:26 AM ----------

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Ciphor said:


> It is definitely a white lady spider, but which one...
> 
> Could be: _Leucorchestris arenicola_ (white lady spider)
> Or could be: _Carparachne aureoflava_ (white lady spider, wheel spider)
> ...



Thanks for the info! When i get home from work i'll take a closer look. I wondered the same thing but didn't see much on Carparachne aureoflava, so figured it may be a dead latin name, or inaccurate.

Hopefully i can get some better pictures soon, also.


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## Ciphor (May 25, 2012)

_Carparachne_ & _Leucorchestris_ are both found in Namibia. They are pretty closely related and are known as the lady spiders of Namibia. There are quite a few unique species of huntsman in Namibia. I wouldn't mind going there some day


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## Entomancer (May 25, 2012)

Wow, nice!

How did you manage to get one of these?

Did you get one from somebody that somehow imported them or brought one back?


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## Tarantula_Hawk (May 26, 2012)

Just wanna point out thats not either of the "white lady spiders".
It's a Sparassidae of the genus _Cerbalus_, a genus distributed Northern Africa and the Middle East. They are occasionally found in the hobby, as opposed to the the namibian ones which i have never seen anywhere.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Ciphor (May 28, 2012)

Tarantula_Hawk said:


> Just wanna point out thats not either of the "white lady spiders".
> It's a Sparassidae of the genus _Cerbalus_, a genus distributed Northern Africa and the Middle East. They are occasionally found in the hobby, as opposed to the the namibian ones which i have never seen anywhere.


Ya theres that one too, good catch, didn't even remember that guy.

When looking at the morphology & eye arrangment, I'm curious how you ruled out these two genera, especially _Leucorchestris_ as that eye arrangement looks like a very close match, as does the morphology. (AME's larger then ALE's, Posterior eyes evenly distributed & slightly procurved.)

I honestly cannot say for sure which species it is, or is not. Not enough research available to me.

I'm still about 90% certain that the setae color are diagnostic to one of the genera.

You know after reading tho, that faint abdominal strip might be diagnostic too.


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## Tarantula_Hawk (May 28, 2012)

Without having to go in smaller less noticeable feature, overall coloration is actually diagnostic of the genus _Cerbalus_.
Both _Carparachne_ and _Leucorchestris_ are completely white. The first one has a more "ghost like/transparent" coloration with a slight golden/yellowish tone. The second one has a more true and distinct white coloration. However, both of them are homogeneous througout the whole body.
Here are some valid pictures of these two species:
_C. aureoflava_
http://www.visualphotos.com/photo/1...parachne_aureoflava_eating_a_namib_510560.jpg
http://www.inado.de/2010/images/living_desert_6617_800.jpg

_L. arenicola_
http://www.sciencephoto.com/image/373698/530wm/Z4300609-Dancing_white_lady_spider-SPL.jpg
http://content62.eol.org/content/2011/11/01/18/15812_580_360.jpg

_Cerbalus_, on the other hand, is different and appears heterogeneous in terms of its coloration. Typical are the distinctively dark patella and chelicerae. The prosoma is white while opistosoma and legs appear more cream colored. Also, the cardiac mark is generally more noticeable. The cephalic region appears less "squared off" and rounder compared to that of _L. arenicola_, and therefore the disposition of the eye rows is slightly different. These features are noticeable in this specimen. 
Here are several pictures:
http://www.naturamediterraneo.com/Public/data6/amir/Cerbalus-1aa.jpg_200825152347_Cerbalus-1aa.jpg
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t306/arachnoporium/Cerbalus-hand-1-800.gif
http://www.firstnews.co.uk/site_data/images/cerbalus_aravensis_4b7afdaf33a40.jpg
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?111187-Leucorchestris-arenicola-and-Sicarius-terrosus (this is an example of a mistaken ID )

The Nambian species basically do not exist in the european truespider pet trade, and as such I strongly believe they could appear in US one. They are extremely inaccessible compared to _Cerbalus._They are endemic to Namibia where they additionally have a quite limited distribution.
_Cerbalus_ species, while still being rare, have been around the trade for several years now. This is probably due to their geographic distribution (N. Africa and Middle East) which makes them much easier to obtain. It is also coherent to what the seller of the specimen told the OT. Specimens of this genus sold in the pet trade are more often than not mistakenly id'ed as one of the two namibian species, and are often just labeled as "White Lady Spider" (something which probably attracts more buyers). 

Hope all of this helped.


PS: I apologize if I sounded rude in my previous post.


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## Ciphor (May 28, 2012)

TH,

Zero offense taken in the face of facts (u were polite anyway), and very appreciative of the images and explanations, as I am certain the OP is as well.

Looks like I was misinformed on the setae too. Had one part right! "White" lol.

Thanks for clearing all the BS up! (mostly from me lol)


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## Vespula (May 30, 2012)

Beautiful spiders!


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## EXOPET (Jun 1, 2012)

If I remember correctly Peter Grabowitz had Cerbalus last year, lovely looking spiders


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