# Acanthoscurria fracta question



## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Aug 8, 2013)

I just picked up a pair of Acanthoscurria fracta one thing I noticed is they are very aggressive. More aggressive than a geniculata or any other Acanthoscurria sp. that I have come across with. So my first question is I notice that The World Spider Catalog does not have listed A. fracta did the name change by any chance? The care for this sp. will it be the same as geniculata or somewhat similar? I have been waiting a long time for this species so I am new with this one so any information would be helpful. Here is a couple of photos of the female. Thanks!

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## Philth (Aug 8, 2013)

Nice rare spider.  Definitely hard to come by.  _A. fracta_ is synonyms with _A. natalensis_.  See this paper.  To confuse things, _A. natalensis_ was in the hobby some years back, but it was actually_ Nhandu carapoensis_, so if you google _A. natalensis_, most of the pics are _N. carapoensis_. ( I hope that makes sense)  I haven't had A.fracta/natalensis in probably over a decade, but I had no problem keeping them like any other _Acanthoscurria_.

Later, Tom

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## Poec54 (Aug 8, 2013)

Philth said:


> Nice rare spider.  Definitely hard to come by.  _A. fracta_ is synonyms with _A. natalensis_.  See this paper.  To confuse things, _A. natalensis_ was in the hobby some years back, but it was actually_ Nhandu carapoensis_, so if you google _A. natalensis_, most of the pics are _N. carapoensis_. ( I hope that makes sense)  I haven't had A.fracta/natalensis in probably over a decade, but I had no problem keeping them like any other _Acanthoscurria_.


Thanks.  I thought it was odd that the artist known as 'A. natalensis' looked surprisingly a lot like N. carapoensis, but assumed it was convergent evolution.  That explain the similarity.  

Is this the case with Lasiodora crista and Nhandu chromatus too?  One and the same?  I've also read that some taxonomists think that chromatus, which has bounced around in a couple of genera, isn't a particularly good fit in Nhandu either.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Aug 8, 2013)

Tom, it is confusing for me to fully understand what it says on that paper. Quite honestly this species of the female and male are evil, she and he attacks and puts up a fight when I first tried to put her in her new environment. They literally flipped on their back side when I was trying to put them in their enclosure. Definitely a very aggressive species I was not expecting this behavior from them. They make some old world aggressive species look silly. No doubt one nice rare species. The female is about 6" inches and the male about 4" inches I hope they live long enough for breeding which they should but anything can go wrong. Thanks for the info.

Jose
www.exoskeletoninverts.com
support@exoskeletoninverts.com


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## lancej (Aug 8, 2013)

The only other one I've seen was absolutely defensive to a ridiculous degree.  I have heard this is normal for them.


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## Philth (Aug 9, 2013)

jose said:


> Tom, it is confusing for me to fully understand what it says on that paper.


Basically the proper label for this spider is now _Acanthoscurria natalensis.
_


Poec54 said:


> Is this the case with Lasiodora crista and Nhandu chromatus too?  One and the same?  I've also read that some taxonomists think that chromatus, which has bounced around in a couple of genera, isn't a particularly good fit in Nhandu either.


Yes exactly,  _Lasiodora cristata_ is the old name for what we now call _Nhandu chromatus_, so if you Google _L. cristata_ you get a bunch of old pictures and info on _N. chromatus_.  I've also heard that _N. chromatus_ isn't the best fit for _Nhandu_ so I wouldn't be surprised if the name is changes again one day.  I'm not a taxonomists by any means , but a pretty well known trait of _Nhandu_ is the long hairs that grow on the carapace.  I suspect that's where the confusion comes from.  

Notice the clean look of _N. chromatus_ compared to the others....
1. _N. chromatus_
2. _N. carapoensis_
3. _N. tripepii_ ( use to be _N. vulpinus_)
4. _N. coloratovillosus_



Later, Tom

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## natebugman (Aug 9, 2013)

You didn't happen to pick up that pair from snakecollector at JTreptiles did you? I didn't see he had a pair until they were listed as sold! Beautiful species. Hope you have luck breeding them.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Aug 9, 2013)

natebugman said:


> You didn't happen to pick up that pair from snakecollector at JTreptiles did you? I didn't see he had a pair until they were listed as sold! Beautiful species. Hope you have luck breeding them.


 Yes! They came from them. Here is a photo of both of them, they both did not want me to clean up after their food that they had last night. They attacked the tweezers that I was using to remove the left over. It was not just the thread pose that they were doing, they attack!


Jose
www.exoskeletoninverts.com
support@exoskeletoninverts.com

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Dec 4, 2013)

*New member of the Acanthoscurria natalensis/fracta family!*

Earlier this year I purchased two Acanthoscurria natalensis/fracta one 6" inch female and the other a 4" inch immature male. For a while I kept thinking that the immature male was probably female do to the fact by ventral sexing and taking to long to molt. As of today it has not molted since I received it. Today I received two new member to this species one did not make it in transit though. No this thread is not about me complaining about the dead spider or the immature male being a female. This thread is about getting another member of the Acanthoscurria natalensis/fracta family. The good thing with this new member it is definitely a immature male after absorbing the ventral view of the two that are closely equal in size. This made my day! I really want to breed this species and get babies out to the hobby. I'm glad I was able to get one more that someone had in his collection. Here is a photo of the trio... The top one is the new member immature male and the other two are the females. And it is true what people say about them, this species is the devils pet!!!

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## Philth (Dec 4, 2013)

Awesome good luck man, I will definitely be taking some slings if you get lucky with them.  Good Luck!

Later, Tom

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Dec 5, 2013)

Philth said:


> Awesome good luck man, I will definitely be taking some slings if you get lucky with them.  Good Luck!
> 
> Later, Tom


 Thanks Tom! I'm hoping to get good results. The position that this spider put me in was scary cause of their attitude nature that they have. I tried to put him in the container as you can see he climbed up my hand and it took me a while to get him off. Never again! He is very skinny but alert I will have to do some heavy feeding.


Jose

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## Yentlequible (Dec 5, 2013)

I'll be wanting some slings as well, Jose. I love the angry T's, and yours are some of the meanest I've seen.


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## CitizenNumber9 (Dec 5, 2013)

Philth said:


> Basically the proper label for this spider is now _Acanthoscurria natalensis.
> _
> 
> 
> ...


Wow those pictures make me happy I'm getting Chromatus rather than any other Nhandu!


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Dec 5, 2013)

Yentlequible said:


> I'll be wanting some slings as well, Jose. I love the angry T's, and yours are some of the meanest I've seen.


 Man I tell you I'm hoping for the best with this species. I'm really glad I was able to get another one and which it turned out an immature male so I will have two females for him when he matures. It could be another year but it will be worth the wait. Some of you are probably thinking they just look like another brown spider, but their attitude, long legs and when they are freshly molt makes up the beauty in this monster devil species.


Jose

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Dec 22, 2013)

*Acanthoscurria natalensis/fracta spermathecae*

I want to post a photo of the Acanthoscurria natalensis/fracta spermathecae. This spermathecae photo is of my 4" inch female, she just molted this morning. I have a 6"+ female that I'm waiting on for her to molt so I can get a better photo of an adult spermathecae. I did not see a photo of this species when I did a google search of the spermathecae, so if there is one out there sorry I missed it. Hope this photo will be in some use for the future and hopefully the beginning of having some offsprings of this species in the hobby once my immature male matures. Here is some photos of the spermathecae and a freshly molted Acanthoscurria natalensis/fracta female. Since it is cold outside I had to take this photos inside. Thanks for looking!


Jose

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Jan 19, 2014)

*Acanthoscurria natalensis/fracta redescription*

As some of as are aware of the new description of the Acanthoscurria fracta is now natalensis. I'm providing a link to the ABSTRACT rediscription of this species. I have a few issues with the new description, problem number one:
The photo provided with the ABSTRACT description of the spermathecae is not the same as the Acanthoscurria fracta that I have. 
Second problem:
The photo provided with the ABSTRACT description of the spider itself is not the the same spider that I have or most of us has know as Acanthoscurria fracta. In the hobby we have seen photos of what the Acanthoscurria fracta has always looked like from Rick West website to doing a google search on some previous owners that have had this species. After speaking with a couple of people about the change some of them think that the Acanthoscurria fracta that we have known in the hobby is probably a species that has been identify but under a different name. Which one? Or it has not ever been identify at all! My opinion is I think the person who redescribed this species might up screwed up. This is only my best opinion based on that the Acanthoscurria fracta are from the Northern Brazil the state of Para and parts of Guyana. The Acanthoscurria natalensis are from southern Brazil I know the Amazon river splits the two species apart whether this means anything I don't know?
Now I don't know what to call my spider wether to stick with Acanthoscurria fracta thinking that this person screwed up describing this species or Acanthoscurria sp. Guyana since that is where they were imported from and of the possibility that this species has not yet been described. I could also call it Acanthoscurria sp. Para since the common name is Para Mongo Zebra of this species. If anyone has any additional information please provide. For all we know the species I have or others have might get transferred back to its original Acanthoscurria fracta name, since it has happen in the past with other species. Here is the link please take the time to look thoroughly. http://www.scielo.br/pdf/zool/v28n4/v28n4a15.pdf


Jose

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## Bugmom (Jan 19, 2014)

Dangit. I want all the Acanthoscurria that I can get my hands on. Their attitudes are what makes them so awesome to me. One of my favorite species. But I really dislike having T's that I'm not sure on their species (as then, what do I say if/when I breed?) 

Of course here in New Mexico we have the same issue. We (friends and I) have collected something like 15 Aphonopelma species from within a 20ish mile radius, and almost all of them are uniquely colored. Because they are so dang slow growing, it'll be sooooo long before we have molts to compare spermethecae for the females. 

Tarantula identifying: A lesson in patience like no other!

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## cold blood (Feb 12, 2014)

Whatever they are, I hope breeding goes well....I want one, too!!!


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Feb 14, 2014)

*Latest update*

The latest update I have on the Acanthoscurria fracta is, when my adult female molts I will be sending the molt to Rick West (Canada) and than Rick West will be sending the molt to Dr. Rogerio Bertani (Brazil) to do a further investigation research on this species. I'm determine to try to find out why this species is no longer under the name Acanthoscurria fracta.
It seems a few years ago at a research lab facility in Brazil was caught on fire and some specimens that were burnt were 100 year old, rare and extinct species were lost also. Here is the link to what happen in research lab facility in Brazil. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8685921.stm my understanding to data or specimens were not save from the fire. This is a huge loss to humanity!
Well I hope once the molt of my adult female Acanthoscurria fracta gets sent to Dr. Rogerio Bertani he will be able to find some answers.


Jose

---------- Post added 02-14-2014 at 03:48 PM ----------




cold blood said:


> Whatever they are, I hope breeding goes well....I want one, too!!!


 I'm hoping for good results once the male matures. I do find this species on the slow growing side. I don't mine though I can't wait until the male matures I hear that they are very pretty.


Jose


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## Keith B (Feb 14, 2014)

Good old fashioned taxonomic hell as usual lol.. yeah this change has been in effect for a little while now.  I'm as lost as you or most other people would be.  What's on Rick Wests site and what some owners had has Pamphobeteus-like coloration, and what most people post as fracta looks like insubtilis or juruencola, all of which look very similar in search results.  On top of that, what people ALSO have had in the past they listed as natalensis looks nothing like the natalensis in the article.  It's a total confusing mess.  Maybe one of us has to hunker down and read through description articles?  *cue scary music*  Real tragic that fire.. what a horrible loss for arachnoculture


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Apr 6, 2014)

*When will she ever stay cool!*

Every time I feed her she always shows me who is boss. To this day she has not pull one hair off of her abdomen, she is all about striking first. She shows me that her urticating hairs are meaningless that her bite is what matters. She wants to know if anyone wants to play with her?
Heck, I don't know what to call this spider anymore!




*Acanthoscurria fracta - Adult Female*







*Acanthoscurria fracta - Adult Female*








-J

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## Beary Strange (Apr 6, 2014)

I'm torn between finding this really cute and feeling so bad for her, since she's clearly scared senseless. XD;


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Apr 6, 2014)

Belle Fury said:


> I'm torn between finding this really cute and feeling so bad for her, since she's clearly scared senseless. XD;


 Scared? Not her! Defensively or aggressively is more of a appropriate approach for her. Scared would be me since I'm doing the feeding and cleaning after her. 


-J


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## Poec54 (Apr 7, 2014)

jose said:


> Every time I feed her she always shows me who is boss. To this day she has not pull one hair off of her abdomen, she is all about striking first. She shows me that her urticating hairs are meaningless that her bite is what matters.


Love that attitude, makes them more desirable to me.  I need to get some of those.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Apr 7, 2014)

Poec54 said:


> Love that attitude, makes them more desirable to me.  I need to get some of those.


 She stood in that position for four hours straight up.
I hope I can get babies of this species they are truly beautiful. Yes, that's what makes them desirable is their "Attitude"! 




-J

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## Alltheworld601 (Apr 7, 2014)

Are these guys in temporary cups?  I am wondering if maybe she is so angry because it appears that she has nowhere to hide.


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## Poec54 (Apr 7, 2014)

Alltheworld601 said:


> Are these guys in temporary cups?  I am wondering if maybe she is so angry because it appears that she has nowhere to hide.


Regardless of what they're in, this is not the typical way most NW's greet visitors.  Most kick hairs or run.  I always find it endearing when tarantulas stand up on their rear legs.  I also like the vivid banding on the ventral side of the legs, reminiscent of Poecilotheria.  Like Poecilotheria, I imagine that the bold ventral banding is a warning to predators to keep their distance or pay the price.


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## Alltheworld601 (Apr 7, 2014)

Poec54 said:


> Regardless of what they're in, this is not the typical way most NW's greet visitors.  Most kick hairs or run.  I always find it endearing when tarantulas stand up on their rear legs.  I also like the vivid banding on the ventral side of the legs, reminiscent of Poecilotheria.  Like Poecilotheria, I imagine that the bold ventral banding is a warning to predators to keep their distance or pay the price.


I don't think there's a set rulebook for temperament of ANY species.  I know that is probably generally correct, but certainly not always.  I've had plenty of NW terrestrials that would rather slap and bite than kick or run.  But that was usually during rehousings.  If I were to open the lid on their enclosure where they have a hide and/or burrow, they tend to just saunter into the hole where they feel safe.  If this is the way the OP is keeping the spider permanently, then it has no other choice than to get defensive.  I gave him the benefit of the doubt though, they could just be temporary holding containers, in which case refer to the first sentence, you can't always predict temperament based on species.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Apr 7, 2014)

Alltheworld601 said:


> Are these guys in temporary cups?  I am wondering if maybe she is so angry because it appears that she has nowhere to hide.


 Her enclosure has a hide out and water dish. Photo don't show the hide out. The water dish I always take them out when I feed my spiders, this helps to prevent cricket drowning in the water dish. Plus the Acanthoscurria fracta and as my brocklehursti that I have now they always hang out away from the hide out.
This species just have a bigger attitude compare to other Acanthoscurria sp. that I have come across. 



-J

---------- Post added 04-07-2014 at 12:07 PM ----------

There is a name that was giving to this species they call them the "Devil's Pet". I first heard of this name back in the late 90's now after owning three of this species I understand why.



-J

---------- Post added 04-07-2014 at 12:22 PM ----------

After observing the Acanthoscurria fracta to me they are more to attack then to flick hairs. In about three to four months it will be a year since I have owned the A. fracta and not once have they kicked hairs. The geniculata, brocklehursti, chacoana etc. their the opposite of the fracta. Not saying that they won't bite cause they have tried, to me they are more to be hair kickers.



-J

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Aug 4, 2014)

*Acanthoscurria fracta mature male!*

Finally my Acanthoscurria fracta male matured two weeks ago. He is 5" inches and ready to eat and eventually breed. So now I'm waiting for my 7" inch female and my 4.5" inch female to molt for breeding.


*Acanthoscurria fracta Mature Male*







*Acanthoscurria fracta Mature Male*







*Acanthoscurria fracta Mature Male*








Jose

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## Poec54 (Aug 5, 2014)

Alltheworld601 said:


> I don't think there's a set rulebook for temperament of ANY species.


Right, there is always variety, but most individuals in a species tend to have a similar type of personality, the result of thousands of years of adapting to the conditions and predators in their habitat.  They instinctively do what's needed to survive, and often that's kicking hairs, running away quickly, or standing in a defensive pose and fighting for their life.


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## Yentlequible (Aug 6, 2014)

jose said:


> Finally my Acanthoscurria fracta male matured two weeks ago. He is 5" inches and ready to eat and eventually breed. So now I'm waiting for my 7" inch female and my 4.5" inch female to molt for breeding.
> 
> 
> *Acanthoscurria fracta Mature Male*
> ...


That male is beautiful! I love those stripes on the chelicerae! Definitely something I haven't seen before.

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## Athenas Boy (Aug 6, 2014)

Wow.. Absolutely stunning specimen! I can't wait for you to start breeding if love to get my hands on some of these slings!


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Aug 6, 2014)

Athenas Boy said:


> Wow.. Absolutely stunning specimen! I can't wait for you to start breeding if love to get my hands on some of these slings!


 I have been wanting to breed this species for so long, to be the first to produce babies and to have cb babies in the hobby for the first time. 



Jose

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## Poec54 (Aug 7, 2014)

jose said:


> I have been wanting to breed this species for so long, to be the first to produce babies and to have cb babies in the hobby for the first time.


I'm over here cheering you on.

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Aug 8, 2014)

Poec54 said:


> I'm over here cheering you on.


 Every cheer is helpful!
I have two females that are wild caught as well as the male that just matured, so I'm thankful to finally have this opportunity to breed this species. My understanding is that every time this species has been available as wild caught specimen it has been mistakingly mislabeled. Occasionally it gets brought in on an import with the Goliath Bird Eaters. 
I know of only two attempts in the US hobby of breeding this species, one of those attempts was that the mature male got scared ran off the females cage and dropped to the ground and eventually died from the wounds from falling. 
The other attempt was that the female molted before making the egg sac. This female is now with me and I will try breeding her for the second time.



Jose

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## ratluvr76 (Aug 8, 2014)

keep us posted for sure!!! do you have any plans on when you will pair them up?


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## TLover007 (Aug 8, 2014)

Wow congrats. Cant wait to see results. Keep us posted


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Aug 9, 2014)

ratluvr76 said:


> keep us posted for sure!!! do you have any plans on when you will pair them up?


 My 6"+ inch wild caught female has not molted since I bought her on the 8/6/2013 so with her I have to wait until she molts which I suspect soon. The smaller wild caught female molted on the 12/22/2013 but since it has been more than 6 months, I have to wait until she molts as well. It will not be good for me to pair them up at this point it's to risky since both can molt any time soon. Fingers cross! This species is very cool. The most aggressive/defensively Acanthoscurria sp. I have ever encounter.
I will keep you all posted.



Jose

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Sep 21, 2014)

jose said:


> I want to post a photo of the Acanthoscurria natalensis/fracta spermathecae. This spermathecae photo is of my 4" inch female, she just molted this morning. I have a 6"+ female that I'm waiting on for her to molt so I can get a better photo of an adult spermathecae. I did not see a photo of this species when I did a google search of the spermathecae, so if there is one out there sorry I missed it. Hope this photo will be in some use for the future and hopefully the beginning of having some offsprings of this species in the hobby once my immature male matures. Here is some photos of the spermathecae and a freshly molted Acanthoscurria natalensis/fracta female. Since it is cold outside I had to take this photos inside. Thanks for looking!
> 
> 
> Jose


 I'm posting my big girl spermathecae she is about 6.5" from her last molt. I want you guys to know that my two females of the Acanthoscurria fracta are wild caught specimens. And I just purchased a new wild caught specimen of this same species last week so now I have three females. 
The two females that I have had since last year molted yesterday and today. When the females that just molted are ready for breeding I will pair my male with them. This are definitely a slow growing species my adult female took nearly two years to molt. I am really excited to work with this species it has been a long journey for me to acquire them and to finally get the chance to work with them. I'm hoping for the best, my male has made six sperm webs since he molted and not yet been paired with any of my females.


*Acanthoscurria fracta - Adult Female Spermathecae*







*Acanthoscurria fracta - Adult Female Spermathecae*









Jose

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## Yentlequible (Sep 22, 2014)

Nice photos. Let's see some shots of the T soon! Those colors are going to look great!


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Sep 30, 2014)

*Recently molted A. fracta photos!*

Finally I have a couple recently molted wild caught adult and sub-adult female photos. 


*Acanthoscurria fracta - Wild Caught Adult Female*






*Acanthoscurria fracta- Wild Caught Adult Female*






*Acanthoscurria fracta - Wild Caught Sub-Adult Female*






*Acanthoscurria fracta - Wild Caught Sub- Adult Female*











Jose

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## Akai (Sep 30, 2014)

wow these are post molt?  these are gorgeous.  they look more like an Acanthoscurria then they did before.  i'd definitely buy one but then again i'm a sucker for large NW terrestials.  lol

---------- Post added 09-30-2014 at 10:25 PM ----------

honestly it looked like a big brown mean Pampho before looking back.  even the carapace reminded me of one as well.  beautiful regardless.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Oct 1, 2014)

Akai said:


> wow these are post molt?  these are gorgeous.  they look more like an Acanthoscurria then they did before.  i'd definitely buy one but then again i'm a sucker for large NW terrestials.  lol
> 
> ---------- Post added 09-30-2014 at 10:25 PM ----------
> 
> honestly it looked like a big brown mean Pampho before looking back.  even the carapace reminded me of one as well.  beautiful regardless.


 It's funny you say that, cause I had a conversation with Joe Rossi when I first bought this species and I told him the same exact thing. Joe even says that he has never seen an Acanthoscurria mature male that has the looks or characteristics like this species. He also mentioned that it reminded him of a Pamphobeteus sp.

At first I thought they were a just a brown spider but as you can see as they first molt and get bigger this species gets darker.

Both of this females when I took them outside yesterday for a photo shoot they were giving me a lot of threat pose and had venom on the tip of their fangs.



Jose

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## JoeRossi (Oct 1, 2014)

Stunning and beautiful specie to say the least.  GREAT PICS It's just to bad they are a natural hybrid crossbreed Lol....


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## miss moxie (Oct 1, 2014)

My goodness Jose, these spiders of yours look absolutely beautiful as always! And I am definitely loving how angry they are. Well, I love that they're angry and you are the one dealing with them. I'd probably love it a lot less if I was on the receiving end.

Congratulations on a lovely find, and good luck on breeding them!


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Oct 22, 2014)

*Acanthoscurria fracta breeding photos!*

First attempt: A few weeks ago when I first try to paired the male with my 4.75" inch female the male decided to bail out. The next day I tried with my 6.5" inch female the male did the same thing he bailed out. 
Second attempt: The following week after the first breeding attempt I tried again with each females and the male again bailed out. So far what I have noticed was that the male is to skittish.
Third attempt: This time I moved my 4.75" inch female today to a smaller enclosure. The purpose for a smaller enclosure was I did not want the male not to have access to run away. He had no choice but to breed. Once the insertion took place the female went completely backwards so I was able to see liquid out of her epigastric furrow. The male did his job and as I'm writing he is grooming his pedipalps.
 I did take a chance of loosing the male to a fight with one another by keeping the lid on the enclosure and of course taking the photos. This photos are not the best but it will do for now. I can consider this to be the first wild caught captive breeding Acanthoscurria fracta photos available to the public. 
One down two more females to go. My next attempt will be with the 6.5" inch female.


*Acanthoscurria fracta male and female attempting to breed*






*Acanthoscurria fracta male and female attempting to breed*






*Acanthoscurria fracta male and female attempting to breed*






*Acanthoscurria fracta male and female successful breeding*







Jose

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## Akai (Oct 22, 2014)

There was no room for error for that male in that setup.  lol  I'm glad everything went OK in that pairing and I'm crossing my fingers.


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## JoeRossi (Oct 22, 2014)

Its about time Bandito LOL


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## Philth (Oct 22, 2014)

Good luck man!


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## Yentlequible (Oct 22, 2014)

I can't wait to see some babies! This will be a great species to add to the hobby!


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Oct 23, 2014)

Thanks guys I appreciate the support. Cause I need it!



Jose


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Oct 31, 2014)

*Adult female A. fracta killed mature male A. fracta!*

Like the title says my adult female fracta killed my mature male fracta. I knew it was a good idea to breed the male first with my younger female. Now it is up to my young female to hopefully produce a sac.
Sorry no photos I'm letting my male die with dignity...........



Jose

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Mar 8, 2015)

*The wait is over!*

The wait is over, my Acanthoscurria fracta decided to molt instead of dropping a sac. It will be a miracle for me to try to find another wild caught male. I'm really disappointed, I wanted babies of this species really bad and it is was not meant to be.......


*Acanthoscurria fracta - Wild Caught Female*







-J


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## miss moxie (Mar 8, 2015)

jose said:


> The wait is over, my Acanthoscurria fracta decided to molt instead of dropping a sac. It will be a miracle for me to try to find another wild caught male. I'm really disappointed, I wanted babies of this species really bad and it is was not meant to be.......
> 
> 
> *Acanthoscurria fracta - Wild Caught Female*
> ...


Bummer!  I really would have loved some slings, these fracta are gorgeous even if they _are_ temperamental.


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## Poec54 (Mar 8, 2015)

miss moxie said:


> I really would have loved some slings, these fracta are gorgeous even if they _are_ temperamental.


To me, the biggest attraction is their feistiness.  Not many NW's stand in a defensive pose.


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## Philth (Mar 8, 2015)

Bummer, sorry to hear Jose.


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## cold blood (Mar 8, 2015)

Best of luck finding another male Jose!


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Mar 8, 2015)

December 2013 she molted and did not molt until late September 2014. It makes me mad that she molted in September 2014 and decided to molt last night. 
I paired her up with the mature male a month later after she had molted. She should have waited longer. This species are slow growers I was not expecting her to molt this quickly. The timing was perfect for the breeding process and for her to have drop a sac. 



-J


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## miss moxie (Mar 8, 2015)

jose said:


> December 2013 she molted and did not molt until late September 2014. It makes me mad that she molted in September 2014 and decided to molt last night.
> I paired her up with the mature male a month later after she had molted. She should have waited longer. This species are slow growers I was not expecting her to molt this quickly. The timing was perfect for the breeding process and for her to have drop a sac.
> 
> 
> ...


It's as if, with her bad attitude, her ultimate act of ticking you off was molting way sooner than expected just to ruin your week. Those A. fracta ladies are stone cold.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Jun 7, 2015)

*Photo of the Acnathoscurria fracta with a flash*

I took this photo with my Nikon D3000 camera. I decided to do it with a flash outside just to see how it turned out. The photo turned out a little dark not good lighting in my opinion.


*Acanthoscurria fracta Female*

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## Storm76 (Jun 8, 2015)

Can't deny this species seriously caught my interest after all I've read and seen now. Beautiful and nice size. Hmmm...*thinking, please wait*

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Jun 8, 2015)

Storm76 said:


> Can't deny this species seriously caught my interest after all I've read and seen now. Beautiful and nice size. Hmmm...*thinking, please wait*


 Yes, this is a beautiful species. Since her last molt her size is 6.5" inches. So far what I have encountered is that I need to keep this species at a higher humidity level. Ever since I purchased the two females that I have I kept them dry, after many months I almost lost my 6.5" inch female. I found her in the beginning stage of a death curl, so I hurried and gave her a new environment kept the humidity high and gave her another fresh bowl of water. Hours later she was back to normal. 

I think since I live in a very dry state, I need to keep her in a higher humidity level. Definitely not like geniculata or formanally known brocklehursti, this species I can keep them really dry and not have a problem. And than again this two species are available as captive born and not wild caught.

I'm wondering though since the two fracta's that I have are wild caught has anything to do with them needing higher humidity level. If this fracta's were captive born slings and were raised up as adults do you think the humidity level would be the same as from wild caught specimens? If anyone can give their opinions on this would be great.

I really need to stop calling them Acanthoscurria fracta since this name no longer belongs to this species. I should just start calling them Acanthoscurria sp. "Fracta" or Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra".

I'm hoping that someday I come across another immature male and try again on mating them. I don't think in Germany this species was ever bred or babies were produced from a wild caught female. I have not heard of this anyways, but I could be wrong.

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Jun 8, 2015)

*New photos of my  wild caught Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra" 5" inch Female*

I will go ahead and start calling this species Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra" I think this is the proper way to describe this species for now. So this is my 5" inch female that molted three months ago. I figure I should take photos of this species of their development stages every time my adult female and my 5" inch female molt.


*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra" - Wild Caught Female*






*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra" - Wild Caught Female*






*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra" - Wild Caught Female*

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## awiec (Jun 8, 2015)

I'm not an expert and there are many more people on here smarter than me but I will take a crack at your question. CB specimens have had the advantage of having been adjusted to being kept in captivity, while you have yourself a WC who has been taken from its home and is now in your possession. I would think if one where to gradually adjust the WC specimen to "captive" conditions it may become a little more tolerant of drier conditions. Of course there is only so far that you can go with more tropical tarantulas and really if keeping a very humid enclosure is what makes your spiders happy then I'd run with it. Also this could show that perhaps that other members of the genus may have habitat overlap with more dryer regions than perviously thought while your Para Mongos may have a more narrow and strict range in comparison and thus may be less tolerant. 

Once again I probably am wrong on this but perhaps this will lead to better conversation and attract someone better educated in these matters.


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## Storm76 (Jun 9, 2015)

Gonna say what I always say on that topic: Personally I keep my T's close to conditions they would have in their natural habitat. Arid? Arid. Humid? Alright, humid then. I saw you keep yours on gravel or whatever that stuff is? I'd use potting soil, ecoearth, or whatever - but certainly not that stuff. That way you can also keep humidity higher more easy by moistening a part of the enclosure.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Jun 9, 2015)

awiec said:


> I'm not an expert and there are many more people on here smarter than me but I will take a crack at your question. CB specimens have had the advantage of having been adjusted to being kept in captivity, while you have yourself a WC who has been taken from its home and is now in your possession. I would think if one where to gradually adjust the WC specimen to "captive" conditions it may become a little more tolerant of drier conditions. Of course there is only so far that you can go with more tropical tarantulas and really if keeping a very humid enclosure is what makes your spiders happy then I'd run with it. Also this could show that perhaps that other members of the genus may have habitat overlap with more dryer regions than perviously thought while your Para Mongos may have a more narrow and strict range in comparison and thus may be less tolerant.
> 
> Once again I probably am wrong on this but perhaps this will lead to better conversation and attract someone better educated in these matters.


 I appreciate your input.

---------- Post added 06-09-2015 at 05:18 AM ----------




Storm76 said:


> Gonna say what I always say on that topic: Personally I keep my T's close to conditions they would have in their natural habitat. Arid? Arid. Humid? Alright, humid then. I saw you keep yours on gravel or whatever that stuff is? I'd use potting soil, ecoearth, or whatever - but certainly not that stuff. That way you can also keep humidity higher more easy by moistening a part of the enclosure.


 That stuff is vermiculite, it can also be use for substrate for any tarantula, as well as humidity. 

I had both of my Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra" very dry for a long period of time cause I heard that you can keep them like any other Acanthoscurria sp., but finding out the hard way from my experience the Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra" are definitely on a higher humidity level. This is so far from my observation about this species, specially for this species being taking away from their natural environment in the wild. Even though the 6.5" inch female has been captive raised for a number of years, it does seems that this species need the humidity level high. 

And than again I do live in a dry desert State environment, so this maybe a big factor for this species to be in the proper condition. Also from my understanding is, that the Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra" are being collected and shipped to the U.S.A with the Theraphosa sp., E. murinus and some other species. Since Theraphosa sp. need their environment to be humid I'm thinking that the Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra" do need to be in the same condition as well.

Thanks for your input I always appreciate any additional information.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Aug 3, 2015)

*Another safe and successful molt*

I got a nice surprise today from my adult female. I was not expecting her to molt, she gave me no sign of wanting to molt besides not taking a bit of food. She did not have a bald spot, as matter of fact every time my young female and my adult female have not flicked, kicked their hairs before they molt.

In two weeks she is going outside for photos.

*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra"*

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Aug 11, 2015)

*Devil's Pet!*

I had a chance today to take new photos of this beautiful species. I know you've seen her once, twice etc. but gotta take new photos of her every time she molts. She is roughly 7" inches by now, don't know for sure I will have to take measurements on her a different day.

I keep on wishing and hoping for another male to come along my way. Guys and gals, Please keep your eyes open for me if you come across an immature or mature male.

With her recent molt I noticed a little change on the carapace, she has a couple of marks on the left and on the right side by her eyes. This are perfect markings and she did not have this on her previous molt cycles.

*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra"*






*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra"*






*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra"*

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## Poec54 (Aug 11, 2015)

jose said:


> With her recent molt I noticed a little change on the carapace, she has a couple of marks on the left and on the right side by her eyes. This are perfect markings and she did not have this on her previous molt cycles.



Are those spots where the carapace didn't come off cleanly, or are they supposed to be there?  if so, it gives the appearance of having bigger eyes and eye cluster.

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Aug 11, 2015)

Poec54 said:


> Are those spots where the carapace didn't come off cleanly, or are they supposed to be there?  if so, it gives the appearance of having bigger eyes and eye cluster.


 After examine her a bit, it seems when she molted the old carapace took a little tiny bit of her surface hairs.


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## Chris LXXIX (Aug 11, 2015)

Nice attitude, reminds me of a female _Acanthoscurria muscolosa_ i had years ago, she loved to dig a lot. Miss her.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Aug 11, 2015)

Chris LXXIX said:


> Nice attitude, reminds me of a female _Acanthoscurria muscolosa_ i had years ago, she loved to dig a lot. Miss her.


 I like muscolosa a bit on the soft side though compare to the Devil's Pet.

Here is another photo of her.

*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra"*

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## Storm76 (Aug 14, 2015)

I like that attitude she display there


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## -=}GA']['OR{=- (Aug 15, 2015)

I kept this sp. years ago. "Devil's pet" is a good name for them. They are the equivalent to a new world H. minax. The threat display is very similar, mine used to flip on her back fangs bared, and she would  stay like that for an hour sometimes when disturbed. They are probably the most aggressive NW out there. Great species!


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Aug 15, 2015)

-=}GA']['OR{=-;2400384 said:
			
		

> I kept this sp. years ago. "Devil's pet" is a good name for them. They are the equivalent to a new world H. minax. The threat display is very similar, mine used to flip on her back fangs bared, and she would  stay like that for an hour sometimes when disturbed. They are probably the most aggressive NW out there. Great species!


 What did you do with yours? Did you have a female of male? 

Both of me females behavior acts the same way that yours did. I've seen venom drip from my younger female fangs at times, not always but sometimes.

---------- Post added 08-15-2015 at 04:33 AM ----------




Storm76 said:


> I like that attitude she display there


 I also like that display. Like always she was giving me attitude. Often when I take photos of them even though they give me threat posture I'm able to use my tweezers/ tongs to gently move her legs to spread for my photo shoot. They are not like other spiders that never sits still.

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## Chris LXXIX (Aug 15, 2015)

Definitely a T to have.

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## Storm76 (Aug 15, 2015)

Chris LXXIX said:


> Definitely a T to have.


I agree...now to find some information about them in Europe...might prove difficult.


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## Chris LXXIX (Aug 15, 2015)

Storm76 said:


> I agree...now to find some information about them in Europe...might prove difficult.


Yes, here there's an ocean of _Acanthoscurria geniculata_, few _muscolosa_, _natalensis_, _atrox_, _brocklehursti_ (even if is disbanded, if i'm not wrong, being them _geniculata_ sp. as well), saw _suina_ once, but never saw _fracta_.


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## Storm76 (Aug 15, 2015)

Chris LXXIX said:


> Yes, here there's an ocean of _Acanthoscurria geniculata_, few _muscolosa_, _natalensis_, _atrox_, _brocklehursti_ (even if is disbanded, if i'm not wrong, being them _geniculata_ sp. as well), saw _suina_ once, but never saw _fracta_.


Hmm...I think I gotta talk to someone tomorrow and see what he says about that..


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Aug 16, 2015)

Storm76 said:


> Hmm...I think I gotta talk to someone tomorrow and see what he says about that..


 I'm so hoping that one day I get a shot of mating my two females. These species came in every year unnoticed with sellers or some buyers not lnowing what species they are. 

And I'm surprised that a wild caught female of this species that someone have purchased has not produced a sac. Man, if I can just get a hold of another male would be great.
Do you know of anyone in Germany that have this species?


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## Storm76 (Aug 16, 2015)

jose said:


> I'm so hoping that one day I get a shot of mating my two females. These species came in every year unnoticed with sellers or some buyers not lnowing what species they are.
> 
> And I'm surprised that a wild caught female of this species that someone have purchased has not produced a sac. Man, if I can just get a hold of another male would be great.
> Do you know of anyone in Germany that have this species?


Jose,

I will ask around a little in my circle over here. I'll let you know if I hear anything about them with proof. 

Best
Jan


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## -=}GA']['OR{=- (Aug 17, 2015)

jose said:


> What did you do with yours? Did you have a female of male?
> 
> Both of me females behavior acts the same way that yours did. I've seen venom drip from my younger female fangs at times, not always but sometimes.
> 
> ...


She died of apparent old age, I bought her when she was about 6". I have seen the dripping venom from these as well. She would advance toward the threat when her enclosure was opened, very pugnacious species! She was one of my favorite spiders back then.

I had to sell off all of my urticators, the hairs started to bother me to much.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Sep 13, 2015)

I just can't get enough, gotta post more photos of this girl. Just remember she is wild caught.

*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra"*






*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra"*

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Oct 31, 2015)

Found my younger female on her back. Hope she has another good molt as I wait patiently. It's like waiting in the surgery room at the hospital and hoping everything turns out for the best.

*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra"*

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Oct 31, 2015)

Another successful molt glad to see her get through this difficult time for her.

*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra" - Wild Caught Female*






This photo of the spermathecae turned out a lot better than my adult female on a previous post I posted. Better view in my opinion.

*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra" Spermathecae*

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## Storm76 (Nov 3, 2015)

Congrats! Also, I haven't heard back from those people I wrote to. Sorry, Jose.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Nov 3, 2015)

Storm76 said:


> Congrats! Also, I haven't heard back from those people I wrote to. Sorry, Jose.


 Hi Jan, well thanks for trying. Today on Facebook I found out by Frank Somma he says that in 1996  he imported that he believes of the amount of 200 captive bred spiderlings fracta. I know that Tom (Philth) purchased a couple of those slings from Frank so as far as the story goes of the spiderlings that were available in the US is confirm, the amount of the spiderlings of this species however it appears questionable. 

But if there were 200 spiderlings that were available in the US my question is I have not seen any remarks or records of people having captive born specimens for sale or posting photos of there fracta. Were did all the females go? Obviously the males are long gone. 

The only time I have ever seen the fracta for sale is when someone has one as wild caught specimen. A captive born species that was brought in on a import that vanished so quickly is odd.................I asked Frank how certain is he if the parents of the spiderlings were wild caught captive bred or if it was by a wild caught female that produced captive born babies. I have not heard back from Frank about it yet. 

Jan, since you're in Germany see if you can find out any info on this captive born babies that were available in the 90's. Thanks!


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## Philth (Nov 3, 2015)

A bit more on the one's Frank imported back then.  When he says 200 he maybe speaking in general terms. He brought in a ton of spiders back then, and doubt he remembers exact numbers of everything off the top of his head. Although it would be hard to believe that there's no other evidence of these coming into the U.S. you need to remember a few things. This was before we all had cameras on our cell phones, digital cameras were something new and weren't that good yet, and the whole sharing instant internet pictures, wasn't really a thing yet (at least not like it is today).  I often wondered what happened to some species that I know there were hundreds brought in.  I still have many rare species from back then that have seemed to vanish from the hobby. Its hard to believe that if 200 came in more people wouldn't have them, but it happens. On top of that this hobby has always had a quick turnover of people. Most of the people that were in the hobby that long ago are long gone and never heard from again. Where are all the _Acanthoscurria sternalis_ that he imported ? Where did all the _Metriopelma familiare_, _Hemiercus _sp, _Cyrtopholis flavostriata_, _Chilobrachys_ sp. "Meghalaya small" , _Selenotholus_ sp, _Acanthoscurria _"atrox", go? And thats just to name a few.   

Where did the hundreds of WC _Crassicrus lamanai_ and _Euathlus vulpinus _that were coming in back then go ? Where did all the "Malaysian purple femurs" go that were being bred right here in the states? Oh wait bad example, we just call them _Coremiocnemis hoggi_ now and people pay top dollar import prices to have a "new" species lol.  I think you get my point  

Later, Tom

Reactions: Like 1


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Nov 3, 2015)

Philth said:


> A bit more on the one's Frank imported back then.  When he says 200 he maybe speaking in general terms. He brought in a ton of spiders back then, and doubt he remembers exact numbers of everything off the top of his head. Although it would be hard to believe that there's no other evidence of these coming into the U.S. you need to remember a few things. This was before we all had cameras on our cell phones, digital cameras were something new and weren't that good yet, and the whole sharing instant internet pictures, wasn't really a thing yet (at least not like it is today).  I often wondered what happened to some species that I know there were hundreds brought in.  I still have many rare species from back then that have seemed to vanish from the hobby. Its hard to believe that if 200 came in more people wouldn't have them, but it happens. On top of that this hobby has always had a quick turnover of people. Most of the people that were in the hobby that long ago are long gone and never heard from again. Where are all the _Acanthoscurria sternalis_ that he imported ? Where did all the _Metriopelma familiare_, _Hemiercus _sp, _Cyrtopholis flavostriata_, _Chilobrachys_ sp. "Meghalaya small" , _Selenotholus_ sp, _Acanthoscurria _"atrox", go? And thats just to name a few.
> 
> Where did the hundreds of WC _Crassicrus lamanai_ and _Euathlus vulpinus _that were coming in back then go ? Where did all the "Malaysian purple femurs" go that were being bred right here in the states? Oh wait bad example, we just call them _Coremiocnemis hoggi_ now and people pay top dollar import prices to have a "new" species lol.  I think you get my point
> 
> Later, Tom


 Hey Tom, I was also thinking about the Internet, cameras etc. it makes since. In addition I spoke with a member on Arachnoboards his name is Johnny Gebert, he mentioned this to me before in the past but for some reason it didn't stick in my mine. What he said is in 2004 or so Charles Black (Botar) got an import of 5 slings of the fracta and that Johnny purchased all five of them. Here is a photo of one of the babies which she is now 7" inches. Johnny says she is 11 years old. Here is a link when he writes about it http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?94895-anyone-like-Acanthoscurria-fracta

Courtesy photo of Johnny Gebert






Wether the slings were produced by a wild caught gravid female or captive bred is in question. So far from the information I've gather there has been two times that this captive born spiderlings species has been imported out of Germany.


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## Philth (Nov 3, 2015)

Botar use to get spiders from Tommy Agosta ( Botar never really imported anything himself ) , and Tommy was splitting the imports with Frank at the time, so I wouldn't be surprised if they were the same as mine that I had. Remember last night in a PM I mentioned I have pics dated from 2004? ( Although mine were 2-3 inches in those pics) Regardless what I'm saying is,  I know Frank said he brought some in '96, but again he may just of been throwing any year out there not really remembering.  I kept track of everything back then, and I have my records of when I got them, I'll dig them out tomorrow. Johnny's spider is beautiful. 

Later, Tom

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Nov 3, 2015)

I get what you're saying Frank is getting old like me and forgetful. Though Johnny says the 5 he purchased from Botar was sometime in 2004 and the specimens were slings. Well I could use some males right now. 

Yes Johnny's specimen is beautiful.


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## AphonopelmaTX (Nov 4, 2015)

jose said:


> The latest update I have on the Acanthoscurria fracta is, when my adult female molts I will be sending the molt to Rick West (Canada) and than Rick West will be sending the molt to Dr. Rogerio Bertani (Brazil) to do a further investigation research on this species.


Did you ever send anything to Rick West to forward onto Dr. Bertani?


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Nov 4, 2015)

AphonopelmaTX said:


> Did you ever send anything to Rick West to forward onto Dr. Bertani?


 Yes I did I sent Rick the molt of my adult female. Rick mentioned that he was disappointed that Bertani has not gotten back with him about the fracta. Rick also told me to be in contact with Lucas which I have not done yet.

I do have a wild caught deceased female in the freezer that I'm saving for a good cause if the opportunity passes by. This girl died about a week ago. I let my friend purchase this female from me a while back it hasn't been a year under his care and she parished. I told him not to keep this species too dry and he didn't listen to me. We think she parish of the lack of humidity.

Deceased female


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## Storm76 (Nov 5, 2015)

jose said:


> Hi Jan, well thanks for trying. Today on Facebook I found out by Frank Somma he says that in 1996  he imported that he believes of the amount of 200 captive bred spiderlings fracta. I know that Tom (Philth) purchased a couple of those slings from Frank so as far as the story goes of the spiderlings that were available in the US is confirm, the amount of the spiderlings of this species however it appears questionable.
> 
> But if there were 200 spiderlings that were available in the US my question is I have not seen any remarks or records of people having captive born specimens for sale or posting photos of there fracta. Were did all the females go? Obviously the males are long gone.
> 
> ...


I'll see what I can dig up, Jose.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Nov 15, 2015)

My younger female two weeks ago after her molt. Little by little she's getting some size and looking better each molt and angrier.

*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra" - Female*






*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra" - Female*






*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra" - Female Threat Display*

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Mar 29, 2016)

Once again this thread has risen from the ashes from my first immature male/mature male. This new immature male was shipped yesterday received earlier today and a very angry male he is. Attacked the ruler constantly with no hesitation. I'm excited to get another opportunity to mate/breed this species once again. I will be patient and hopeful.

*Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra" -Wild Caught Immature Male*

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## sdsnybny (Mar 29, 2016)

Beautiful tarantula Jose, good luck with future breeding.


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## Haksilence (Mar 30, 2016)

Those are gorgeous specimens, I love the underlying redish/peach color. Fingers crossed for their future breeding, ID love to have one!


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Mar 30, 2016)

Yesterday evening I gave the male a water dish to make sure he was hydrated. By night time I gave the male a fairly good size of a meal. The male ate an earthworm  and seem to enjoy every bit of it.
So I just got home to pick up a little of a mess that the male made and put another fresh water dish, this was the males reaction to my invasion of his space.
I must say this was perfect for me to get a closer and better look of central sex. Not a happy boy! This male has some anger issues that needs to resolve.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Walter1 (Mar 30, 2016)

Temper tantrum. 

Very handsome species.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Mar 30, 2016)

Anger management. And he still on his back.


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## Sana (Mar 30, 2016)

Ahhhh... but he's so cute being all big and tough...


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (May 1, 2016)

Hmmm! My female won't let go of the ruler. Pissy and stubborn as usual.

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 2


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## sdsnybny (May 1, 2016)

Maybe she is protesting the brand choice of rulers or the material they are made of.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Oct 2, 2016)

My last female

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Jan 30, 2017)

Let's ask the audience, do you see a resemblance, possibility, could be, maybe etc.????????

The abstract drawing is of the only known Acanthoscurria species in French Guiana.

Acanthoscurria simoensi http://www.scielo.br/pdf/zool/v31n1/08.pdf


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## AphonopelmaTX (Jan 30, 2017)

Exoskeleton Invertebrates said:


> View attachment 230333
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I would say that is pretty much an exact match.  It fits the key well enough that I would ID it as A. simoensi.

Got a male by any chance?


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Jan 30, 2017)

AphonopelmaTX said:


> I would say that is pretty much an exact match.  It fits the key well enough that I would ID it as A. simoensi.
> 
> Got a male by any chance?


 Hi @AphonopelmaTX , Stuart Longhorn asked me to take photos of the metatarsals/ scopula from the underside of Leg III and Leg IV. After Stuart receiving the photos from me this was his response.

For those hind legs - i'm reading these bits of that paper (not in figures).  Acanthoscurria juruenicola, p.67: "Scopulae on metatarsi I-II present throughout ventral portion, restricted to apical half of metatarsi III and only on apex of IV."

Acanthoscurria simoensi p.70: "Scopulae on metatarsi I and II throughout all segment, III on distal half, absent on IV"

.getting to the plain english for ya! ...So the metatarsus/metatarsi is that longer segment 'above' the foot. Your photos are great for it, thankyou. Bascially on tarsus III can see it's about half scopulate, .....I'm seeing it as "scopulae absent on IV" so fits much better from that charcter with A.simoensi than A.juruenicola. As did the spermathecae

The reason juruenicola was brought up as a possible ID is because I was told by Rick West it was. Rick west originally had it listed on his website as Acanthoscurria fracta for many years, a few days ago Rick received word from someone that is was juruenicola. Rick made name changes on his website to Acanthoscurria juruenicola. When Rick informed me about the new information I contested the change of ID, I explained why I did not agree. I emailed some of Stuart's messages response to a possible ID of this species to Rick. After Rick read the messages he decided to look into the matter a bit further and changed the name on his website as *Acanthoscurria sp., female, nr. Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil.*

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Jan 30, 2017)

No male, I'm still working on it though.If you still have the dead specimen I gave you you will see that on Leg I and Leg II the scopula is full not half or not absent. I will post photos of Leg I and Leg II later today.


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## AphonopelmaTX (Jan 30, 2017)

Exoskeleton Invertebrates said:


> No male, I'm still working on it though.If you still have the dead specimen I gave you you will see that on Leg I and Leg II the scopula is full not half or not absent. I will post photos of Leg I and Leg II later today.


Awesome!  Your picture of the metatarsus and tarsus of legs 3 and 4 shows the scopulation exactly as described in the paper for the metatarsus of leg 3.  Like Stuart I'm also not seeing scopulae on the tarsus of leg 4, but that could be just that one specimen of your's.  I'll check the one you sent me to compare.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Jan 30, 2017)

The specimen of mine is of my deceased adult female, however I do have a molt of my younger female that I've checked as well, she also has the same characteristics as my adult. I will post photo of Leg I and Leg II later today.


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## JoeRossi (Jan 30, 2017)

Acanthoscurria simoensi: Scopulae on metatarsi leg III distal half- Is clearly evident and comprehendible.  A clear difference from Acanthoscurria juruenicola restricted to apical half of metatarsi leg III.  In addition, spermatheca differences can not be confused and can only concur the photos you have pictured are not Acanthoscurria juruenicola.

However, it would appear that a Leg 3 and 4 observation would be beneficial of both species to clearly define.  Hopefully someone can provide juruenicola photos of leg 3 and 4 to compare.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Feb 6, 2017)

Acanthoscurria simoensi

Hello everyone, I personally want to thank a few people for their time and efforts to help ID my specimen. Before I name those who were involved with helping me to properly ID my specimen I want to share a statement made by Rick West himself that was emailed to me this evening.

Hi Jose,

Okay, it took me awhile to search through thousands of preserved theraphosid specimens in boxes but I finally
found my single female (I am still searching for the male I know I have). I had found and imaged (in situ) these

specimens at Igarape Jacare, off west side of upper Rio Tarumã-Açu, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil

(02° 53' 49.92" S, 60° 7' 16.08" W). I compared the spermathecae and scopulation descriptions of A. simoensi

and A. juruenicola and agree with you, Ray and Stuart that my (and your) Acanthoscurria species is A. simoensi.

It wasn’t until 2014 when the female of A. simoensi was first described http://www.scielo.br/pdf/zool/v31n1/08.pdf.

Having now compared the zoogeographical ranges, spermathecae, leg scopulation and stridulating apparatus of the

female A. juruenicola and A. simoensi, I found the following;

*   the zoogeographical range is in the correct type female range (Manaus, Amazonas) for A. simoensi, whereas,

it is not for A. juruenicola (found only in nearby surrounding States, but not in Amazonas State).

*   my specimen had 13 stridulating bristles. There were 10 stridulating bristles on the type female A. simoensi

specimen and 32 stridulating bristles on A. juruenicola. Some variation in counts in labial/coxal cuspules,

spines and stridulating setae would be expected, but not as high as noted in A. juruenicola.

*   my female had the two sclerotized low lobes, connected by lighter sclerotization (to appear as fused), at the

top of a columnar spermathecae, similar as illustrated for A. simoensi, and were not separated as in illustrated

for A. juruenicola in the above 2014 Paula et al. paper.

*   my female had metatarsi on leg III with 50 % scopulation and no scopulation on leg IV (see attached image).
*   my female’s overall color pattern and body part sizes pretty well match the female description of A. simoensi

in the Paula et al. paper (unfortunately, no female habitus image was in that paper).

*   lastly, the male habitus image in that same paper does look like my image of the male I found in Manaus.

So, based on both your specimens and my specimens, I feel fairly confident that the Acanthoscurria species you
Have (and had sent exuviae of to me, sent to Butantan), and that I also found and imaged in Manaus, are
Acanthoscurria simoensi Vol 2000. I have changed my website images accordingly.

I want to thank you for bringing this to my attention for further investigation. It’s always nice to be able to have a
correct theraphosid ID.

All the best and I hope this helps,

Rick

Besides Rick West information I've taken into consideration the opinions of Stuart Longhorn, Joe Rossi, Tom Patterson, Ray Gabriel, Martin of "Tarantula Canada" and the abstract documents.

All information that I've read leads to Acanthoscurria simoensi.

This species was sold in the hobby as Acanthoscurria fracta. Acanthoscurria fracta is no longer valid and has the new name Acanthoscurria natalensis that belongs to a different species.
Since A. fracta is no longer valid for my specimen, I previously named my specimen under the genus and common giving name Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra", now with all the information and opinions that I've gathered from different sources the proper name should be label as Acanthoscurria simoensi.

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Feb 8, 2017)

Acanthoscurria simoensi: Wild caught 4" inch female.

My new member of the family.

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Aug 9, 2017)

Another molt from my Acanthoscurria simoensi and still no male for her.

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## Cesar9005 (Mar 6, 2018)

Hello guys!! I really need some help!! This is my first time having this specie as pets and I really don't know much about how to care of them. I have been trying to search for information but its very vague to be honest. I was given 2 of this beautiful *Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra".
*
I need to know where I should place them, what to feed them, how to recognise if they are male or female and if they can live together in the same space? 

Thank you very much!!

Greetings from Peru!!


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Mar 6, 2018)

Cesar9005 said:


> Hello guys!! I really need some help!! This is my first time having this specie as pets and I really don't know much about how to care of them. I have been trying to search for information but its very vague to be honest. I was given 2 of this beautiful *Acanthoscurria sp. "Para Mongo Zebra".
> *
> I need to know where I should place them, what to feed them, how to recognise if they are male or female and if they can live together in the same space?
> 
> ...


 Do you have photos of them?

Reactions: Agree 1


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## JoeRossi (Mar 6, 2018)

Exoskeleton Invertebrates said:


> Do you have photos of them?


Agreed ...show me the pair of mongos lol


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## Cesar9005 (Mar 6, 2018)

Exoskeleton Invertebrates said:


> Do you have photos of them?


Yeah I will post them right now! Thank you for getting back to me!! 

I want to apologize with everyone if maybe where I have them is not the right place for them but I hope you understand that they were given to me as a present and I'm asking for help because I want to give them the best life I can offer to them. They are just so cute!

Thank you in advance for your help!

Kind regards,

Cesar


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## Cesar9005 (Mar 6, 2018)

Please help me with all the info that is available about nutrition, habitat, container, etc.

Can they live together? Are they females? males?

Thanks in advance!!


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Mar 6, 2018)

He


Cesar9005 said:


> Yeah I will post them right now! Thank you for getting back to me!!
> 
> I want to apologize with everyone if maybe where I have them is not the right place for them but I hope you understand that they were given to me as a present and I'm asking for help because I want to give them the best life I can offer to them. They are just so cute!
> 
> ...


 Hello! You have a couple of problems. The specimen on the first two photos is Lasiodorides striatus. The specimen on the last two photos if she’s female wait until she molts post photo of the spermathecae. The reason why is because there is a possibility the it’s Lasiodorides striatum as well. 

Either way I’ve kept Lasiodorides striatus dry unless I had babies than I keep them with humidity. Definitely keep them separated not communial. Lasiodorides striatus are slow growers. Feed crickets and whatever else she or he may like. Cockroaches are good too.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Mar 6, 2018)

Cesar9005 said:


> Please help me with all the info that is available about nutrition, habitat, container, etc.
> 
> Can they live together? Are they females? males?
> 
> Thanks in advance!!


You gotta wait until they molt to figure out gender. Save the molts and post photos of them.


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## Cesar9005 (Mar 6, 2018)

Exoskeleton Invertebrates said:


> You gotta wait until they molt to figure out gender. Save the molts and post photos of them.


Thank you very much for your help!!

I have searched photos and definetely are them!  . I was reading though, that they come from subtropical areas of my country, Peru, so the humidity is around 70%-80%, so should I keep some humidity? Or just dry habitat?

Please let me know what you think,

Kind regards,

Cesar


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Mar 6, 2018)

Cesar9005 said:


> Thank you very much for your help!!
> 
> I have searched photos and definetely are them!  . I was reading though, that they come from subtropical areas of my country, Peru, so the humidity is around 70%-80%, so should I keep some humidity? Or just dry habitat?
> 
> ...


 I kept mine dry. How did you acquire them? I ask since you live in Peru that maybe they were wild collected from there.


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## Cesar9005 (Mar 6, 2018)

Exoskeleton Invertebrates said:


> I kept mine dry. How did you acquire them? I ask since you live in Peru that maybe they were wild collected from there.


A friend of mine bought them from a seller. Thought they would make a good present for me hehe. They were indeed! they captivated me since I first saw them! I think they were collected from the wild.

Just one more question, can I touch them with my hands? Or its not recommendable?


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## JoeRossi (Mar 6, 2018)

Cesar9005 said:


> Yeah I will post them right now! Thank you for getting back to me!!
> 
> I want to apologize with everyone if maybe where I have them is not the right place for them but I hope you understand that they were given to me as a present and I'm asking for help because I want to give them the best life I can offer to them. They are just so cute!
> 
> ...


Look different, but a molt confirming the spermetheca would certainly aid.  Also, would agree to get them in a proper enclosure asap....I am sure Berrios will have much to say


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Mar 6, 2018)

Cesar9005 said:


> A friend of mine bought them from a seller. Thought they would make a good present for me hehe. They were indeed! they captivated me since I first saw them! I think they were collected from the wild.
> 
> Just one more question, can I touch them with my hands? Or its not recommendable?


 If you’re not familiar with tarantulas I would do some heavy research on how to care for them. Personally I don’t hold my tarantula unless I have to. Is best to leave them be. Tarantulas are not meant to be touched or to be handle. 
Lasiodorides striatus is a nice gift to have. I love that genus and species.


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## Cesar9005 (Mar 6, 2018)

Thank you guys!! I will rush tomorrow to get two glass tanks. What dimensions would ideal for each of them? Should I include plants? maybe a dried branch for them to climb?

Thanks once again!!


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## Philth (Mar 6, 2018)

Definitely _Lasiodorides striatus. _That would makes sense from Peru as well_. 
_
Later, Tom


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## Cesar9005 (Mar 7, 2018)

Philth said:


> Definitely _Lasiodorides striatus. _That would makes sense from Peru as well_.
> _
> Later, Tom


Thank you!!

Any ideas for a proper enclosure?? Dimensions?

Kind regards


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## JoeRossi (Mar 7, 2018)

Cesar9005 said:


> Thank you!!
> 
> Any ideas for a proper enclosure?? Dimensions?
> 
> Kind regards


As far as enclosures go there are going to be many opinions.  I have no idea what you have access to, but you mention glass tanks.  They appear to be large tarantuals and I like to keep my larger tarantulas in 10 gallon tanks. You do not house them together so that would be 2 seperate tanks and deep substrate (no idea what you can find such as ecco earth) with a water dish.

Hope this helps,
Joe


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## Cesar9005 (Mar 7, 2018)

JoeRossi said:


> As far as enclosures go there are going to be many opinions.  I have no idea what you have access to, but you mention glass tanks.  They appear to be large tarantuals and I like to keep my larger tarantulas in 10 gallon tanks. You do not house them together so that would be 2 seperate tanks and deep substrate (no idea what you can find such as ecco earth) with a water dish.
> 
> Hope this helps,
> Joe



Thank you very much for your reply Joe!!

I think I could us some coconut shell and maybe some spagnhum moss?? I grow Phalaenopsis orchids so I think that would also make a great substrates for my tarantulas.

Thank you once again to everyone who’s helped me with your quick replies!!


Thank you thank you thank you 


Cesar


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## sasker (Mar 7, 2018)

Please also check out this:

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/quick-reference-guide-to-answer-common-questions.145454/

http://arachnoboards.com/threads/beginner-info-read-before-posting.153508/

Having to buy all the stuff for keeping tarantulas may feel a bit overwhelming, but it is best to be a little prepared before braving the pet shop (or else they will do the thinking for you and you will end up with all kinds of unnecessary equipment )

Just a short list of what you need:

An enclosure;
substrate (I suggest coco fiber);
a water bowl;
A hide (I suggest a large piece of curved cork bark)
(optional, but necessary in the long term) large tweezers/forceps to do maintenance in your tank.
What you don't need:

Heating;
lamps;
hygrometers/thermometers;
a sponge for in your water bowl (tarantulas won't drown that easily).
I hope this helps!


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## Cesar9005 (Mar 7, 2018)

sasker said:


> Please also check out this:
> 
> http://arachnoboards.com/threads/quick-reference-guide-to-answer-common-questions.145454/
> 
> ...



It helps me a lot!!! I will post some pictures of the containers I've got with all the items that you have mentioned 

Thank you once again!

Regards,

Cesar

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## Cesar9005 (Mar 23, 2018)

There she is!!! 

I’m very concerned though, since it’s been 3 weeks that she has not eaten at all...

What can be wrong?


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## sasker (Mar 24, 2018)

Well, the needs a little work. I see you have moss as substrate and only like 1 cm. Does your tarantula remain on the hide the whole time? That is probably because she does not like to walk on the moss. You need to fill it up for about 3/4 of the enclosure with substrate, leaving room between the top and the surface of only about 1.5 x the leg span of your tarantula or your tarantula will injure herself if she falls from too high a distance. And please use something like coco peat or even garden soil (without additives like fertilizer!!). Pack everything down tightly, because tarantulas dislike walking on loose substrate. You can bury the hide almost completely and scoop out some of the substrate so she has a nice snug retreat to hide in. I hope you just left the lid off for the picture. If you don't have a lid, make one! Tarantulas can/will climb and without a cover she will escape. And you don't have the terrarium on a heat mat, right? If you do, switch it off immediately!

As for the reason why she is not eating, this could be for various reasons. Perhaps she is going to molt, perhaps she is not hungry because it is too cold in the room. It could also be a matter of settling in (which will be more difficult if she does not feel at ease in the setup of the terrarium). I hope this helps.

Edit: also give her a water bowl!


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Jul 12, 2018)

When my mature male Acanthoscurria simoensi passes I will post photos of the pedipalp bulbs. For now here are some new photos of my mature male.

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Jul 12, 2018)

Here are the rest of the photos.

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## JoshDM020 (Jul 12, 2018)

Exoskeleton Invertebrates said:


> Acanthoscurria simoensi


Is that what the name settled on for the species in the rest of the thread?


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## Greasylake (Jul 12, 2018)

I was considering getting an Acanthoscurria collection, and I think you may have convinced me with these pictures. Off to the classifieds!


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Jul 12, 2018)

JoshDM020 said:


> Is that what the name settled on for the species in the rest of the thread?


 The thread started out as Acanthoscurria fracta for this species. That’s what the hobby named this species as long ago. After posting this thread come to find out that fracta no longer existed and the species should have never been named such as. 
Long story short after researching thoroughly the name Acanthoscurria simoensi belongs to this species.

Reactions: Informative 2


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## Ultum4Spiderz (Jul 12, 2018)

Philth said:


> Nice rare spider.  Definitely hard to come by.  _A. fracta_ is synonyms with _A. natalensis_.  See this paper.  To confuse things, _A. natalensis_ was in the hobby some years back, but it was actually_ Nhandu carapoensis_, so if you google _A. natalensis_, most of the pics are _N. carapoensis_. ( I hope that makes sense)  I haven't had A.fracta/natalensis in probably over a decade, but I had no problem keeping them like any other _AcanAcanthoscurriathoscurria_.
> 
> Later, Tom


oops lol long going thread from 2013!!
I got acanthoscurria insubtilis and not sure if it was mis labeled or what happened to it . Maybe it matured out I think , real shame I didn’t buy more. My nhando carponensis is doing good tho, part of that order.
Down to 54 Ts from 80 3-4 years ago , so many males. And some bad molts, reverting back to My T care of 7-8 years ago. Ive never seen Fracta at all or acanthoscurria insubtilis for sale since.


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Jul 12, 2018)

The last thing I gotta due now is hope to pair my male, female and get some babies. Eventually show off the males emboli as well. Than this thread can come to a close.


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## Ultum4Spiderz (Jul 12, 2018)

Exoskeleton Invertebrates said:


> The thread started out as Acanthoscurria fracta for this species. That’s what the hobby named this species as long ago. After posting this thread come to find out that fracta no longer existed and the species should have never been named such as.
> Long story short after researching thoroughly the name Acanthoscurria simoensi belongs to this species.


Ehh I see , we’rent some nhandos in the genus once? Or vice versa?
So confusing!!!


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Sep 13, 2018)



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## Andrea82 (Sep 14, 2018)

Exoskeleton Invertebrates said:


> View attachment 286503
> View attachment 286504
> View attachment 286505
> View attachment 286506


Those leg markings are gorgeous! Reminds me a little of E.murinus


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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Sep 14, 2018)

Andrea82 said:


> Those leg markings are gorgeous! Reminds me a little of E.murinus


 I’m trying real hard  for this beautiful leg marking species to make it to the hobby, within two weeks I will try to pair the male with her. Hopefully we see some babies sometime next year.

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## Exoskeleton Invertebrates (Oct 25, 2018)

*




	

		
			
		

		
	
 Acanthoscurria simoensi - Palpal Bulb*

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## Theneil (Oct 28, 2018)

Exoskeleton Invertebrates said:


> *
> View attachment 290455
> View attachment 290456
> View attachment 290457
> ...


So do these pictures mean that the pairing ended poorly for the male?


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## Arachnophoric (Oct 28, 2018)

Theneil said:


> So do these pictures mean that the pairing ended poorly for the male?


I'd probably assume not - if the pairing ended poorly, I doubt we'd have anything left to take pictures of besides a squashed ball of tarantula mush.


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## Theneil (Oct 28, 2018)

Arachnophoric said:


> I'd probably assume not - if the pairing ended poorly, I doubt we'd have anything left to take pictures of besides a squashed ball of tarantula mush.


Well i figured something bad must've happened if he has disembodied emboli...


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## Arachnophoric (Oct 28, 2018)

Theneil said:


> Well i figured something bad must've happened if he has disembodied emboli...


Hopefully he passed away due to natural causes and made for a good dissection specimen.


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## Theneil (Oct 28, 2018)

Arachnophoric said:


> Hopefully he passed away due to natural causes and made for a good dissection specimen.


Hopefully, but unless i am missing something the pairing was supposed to happen less than a month ago.  That's why i can't help but think the female decided to be unfriendly...

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## Arachnophoric (Oct 28, 2018)

Theneil said:


> Hopefully, but unless i am missing something the pairing was supposed to happen less than a month ago.  That's why i can't help but think the female decided to be unfriendly...


_Oh..._ I missed that tidbit of info. You might be onto something.


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