# Tityus magnimanus



## GS (Apr 27, 2011)

Dear all,

I've been doing searches on this forum & on the internet for methods of sexing Tityus magnimanus, but has no luck yet with it yet. 
1) Any advice in sexing them?

As i've gotten them as sub-adults, i'm not sure on their instars. 
2) May i find out from keepers here, their estimated mesosoma length for an adult sized specimen?

Below are some pics i took on one of my T. magnimanus:

























Any advice would be great. Thanks in advance 
GS


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## Michiel (Apr 27, 2011)

Males become adult at instar 5, rarely at instar 6. Females become adult at instar 6 and are larger. Males have bulbous chela and more bulky metasomal segment V. 
Juveniles do not show marked sexual dimorphism in morphometrics, so I can't say much about your pics other than guesses. You can view the ventral side and compare the basal middle lammelae of your specimens. If their are specimens with dilated basal middle lammelae and some other with the bml not dilated, the latter are the males.

You can look at the SOTM article about Tityus asthenes on the venomlist, to see pictures of basal middle lammelae to see what I mean.


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## GS (Apr 27, 2011)

Does that mean it's similar to basal middle lammelae (bml) sexing of Parabuthus Transvaalicus? 

As for size, i have one that has 3cm mesosoma length and another has only about 2.3cm mesosoma length.
I'm guessing it will be hard to estimate the instar from that? 

I'll check on the bml tonight. Thanks alot Michiel!


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## Michiel (Apr 27, 2011)

GS said:


> Does that mean it's similar to basal middle lammelae (bml) sexing of Parabuthus Transvaalicus?
> 
> As for size, i have one that has 3cm mesosoma length and another has only about 2.3cm mesosoma length.
> I'm guessing it will be hard to estimate the instar from that?
> ...


They are instar 4 at the least, judging from the pics....You can clearly see from the coloration pattern that they are not yet adult. Yes, it is kind of similar, Tityus and Parabuthus, same idea in general.....


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## punkjepoy (Apr 27, 2011)

I don't have any idea sexing t.magnimanus. But, I really like that. How I wish there is someone breeding that here in the Philippines.
Superb beauty!


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## GS (Apr 27, 2011)

Are they sexed correctly?













Thanks & Regards,
GS


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## GS (Apr 27, 2011)

Thanks to Michiel's advice, I think I've got a confirmation on their sexing.

Few hours after the sexing pics was taken. I placed the male onto the female's enclosure and the following happened.







I'm surprised that they have reach maturity to adulthood. Apologies for the low quality pics.

After a min of courtship dance, the male deposited a spermatophore and repeatedly dragged the female towards it. 

Well, I'm not sure if their mating was a successful one but I've taken a vid on it and will post it up soon. 

Hope to get some insights from you guys. Thanks!


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## Sleazoid (Apr 27, 2011)

Wow, amazing how fast they started with the courtship. Very pretty species.


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## GS (Apr 27, 2011)

@Sleazoid
Yeah bro, they caught me my surprise too as they're still in their temp enclosure while i prepare their new & larger love nest.
The male was really dwarfed by the female and i was thinking he has another molt to go, but i was wrong.

Ok guys,
Here the vid of their mating process below:

[YOUTUBE]OuBrlZhoLm8[/YOUTUBE]

Any idea why does the male consume his own spermatophore?
I've never witness this before and hopefully can get some insights here. Thanks!


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## Michiel (Apr 28, 2011)

Yes you sexed them correct, obviously because they mated , but in the pictures you can see exactly what I explained.
These are fresh adults that have molted maybe a month ago....Adults acquire a brick red coloration overall and the last metasomal segments black in time...Wait a couple of months and then they would have these colorations...
That's a nice big healthy looking female by the way....

Great that they mated. Now you can expect hordes of young, because when the females gives birth to the first brood, the second, third, fourth will follow with 2-3 months interval....


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## GS (Apr 28, 2011)

Spot on! They have recently molted about a month ago. 
Noted on the coloration change. Thanks for the heads up Michiel.



Michiel said:


> Great that they mated. Now you can expect hordes of young, because when the females gives birth to the first brood, the second, third, fourth will follow with 2-3 months interval....


1) A llittle wishful thinking of mine here, does it mean it can store the sperm in her from the first mating and proceed with her 2nd/3rd or fourth brood without having the male to fertilize her again?

2) From the mating vid i posted above, do you have any comments?
I'm curious if the mating was successful as it was really short.
After the male deposited his spermatophore, he only pulled the female towards it like 3-4 times and hes DONE.

3) Any idea why the male consume his spermatophore after that?

Thanks Michiel, your insights has helped me a great deal here


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## Michiel (Apr 28, 2011)

GS said:


> Spot on! They have recently molted about a month ago.
> Noted on the coloration change. Thanks for the heads up Michiel.
> 
> 
> ...



Hi GS,

Yes most (all the species I so far kept either reproduced iteroparously or parthenogenetically) Tityus are able to store sperm. This is called iteroparity, and makes them able to give birth to several broods, after just one succesfull insemination. 

I never found a Tityus spermatophore, never had the chance to photograph one. They eat it very often. It is believed in the scientific community that the spermatohpore is eaten to replenish the lost energy of the making and the depositing of the spermatophore.

The mating ritual does not have to take hours. If you have seen them mating, the spermatophore deposition, and the uptake (the 3-4 times pulling), and the eating of the spermatophore by the male, things must go very strange if you won't get your first brood in a month or three...
So, I'll skip watching the vid okay? 

Cheers, Michiel


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## GS (Apr 28, 2011)

That is great news to me seriously 
They've been rehoused to a much larger & permanent enclosure now.

Thanks for your help Michiel!

I'll update again if something good "pops out" 
Cheers,
GS

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