# Calisoga longitarsus "False Tarantula"



## Teal (Mar 17, 2010)

*I fish a lot of dead spiders () out of the pool... but I was excited to fish this guy out, and realize he was alive! 

I have never seen one around here before... I knew we had them, because I have researched local spiders - but actually SEEING it, and knowing it wasn't a tarantula, was pretty weird lol

He has attitude!  Very readily came after anything that got near him, and bit the decorative leaf I used to manipulate him from the empty deli cup into the decorated one.






I was using the metal to move him out of the puddle and lift his book lungs up






Just a tiny little guy.. but it's a mature male

After I got him into his temporary enclosure... I wanted to keep him overnight, so I could see exactly what species he was. I let him go this morning, in a part of the property no one walks 

















Anyways - just wanted to share what I thought was a cool find *


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## Adversary (Mar 17, 2010)

That's really neat. How come i can't find stuff like this?


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## cacoseraph (Mar 17, 2010)

woowee!


i can find ppl with mature females if you would like to send him out!  and i hope you do, it seems to have slightly better color than normal


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## skippy (Mar 17, 2010)

nah, she said she let him go caco.

nice rescue! they are a little grumpy, aren't they?


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## cacoseraph (Mar 17, 2010)

i didn't see the text in the midst of the pics =P


a breeding loan to nature is at least as good


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## Protectyaaaneck (Mar 17, 2010)

Very cool looking little spider. Nice find.


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## sharpfang (Mar 17, 2010)

*Nice Find - Not So Nice Disposition*

Although....Not all are "Nasty" boys, like Janet Jackson says  - Jason


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## Irks (Mar 17, 2010)

My friend found one floating in his pool as well, thought it was dead. About half an hour after being taken out of the pool to show me, it sprang back to life. Quite aggressive and fun to watch.


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## Teal (Mar 18, 2010)

*Caco!! If only I had posted this before I let him go!! As I was releasing him I thought, "Now I am going to have to hunt for these.. because they would be cool to have!" darn it! lol

Javi - it's because they don't live in the city  just kiddin hun  (well, not really.. they really don't live in the city.. but about teasin ya bout the city atleast haha)

Irks - this little guy started coming back around immediately.. he was floating upside down in the pool, and I just assumed he was dead because they usually are. I was very excited to find him alive, and shocked at the attitude! 

I might have to go search for him now.. LOL *


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## JC (Mar 18, 2010)

I want it! Anyone have a caresheet for this species?


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## Noexcuse4you (Mar 18, 2010)

I have a mature female if you happen to find another male.


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## Teal (Mar 18, 2010)

*Ahh shoot! I was born and raised in this area and went bug hunting every night and have never found one before.. I shouldn't have let him go, apparently! 

And I will be gone all weekend so I can't hunt for him.. maybe I can take a look around on Friday.. *


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## cacoseraph (Mar 18, 2010)

no worries, Teal.  the males likely don't travel *that* far from their birth colony so the hard part (i.e. knowing the live around you) is over 


here is something that might help you look for them, btw:
http://scabies.myfreeforum.org/about3564.html



@JC there really is nothing special to their care. i gave my LPS some little babies and they were able to raise them just fine.  even the smallest babies can live in a little vial or condiment cup.  treat them as you would something like a less dry Brachy.  they grow up like a moderately fast tarantula.  i would guesstimate females are going to take ~4-5 years to mature usually... and last maybe 10-20years.  males could maybe be grown in ~2-3 years.  they are easy to breed and not too difficult to get an eggsac and babies from.  they are one of the most common spiders in some of their areas


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## stacbing (Mar 30, 2010)

*I just found a little guy like this...*

I came across this site during a Google search for "Calisoga."  I just found this guy last night.  Not sure where you others are, but I am in Chico, CA.  My father-in-law is a retired entomologist and he thought it was a female burrowing wolf spider; I thought it was a baby tarantula.  Turns out we were both wrong!  I just wanted to share him:












How do I know if this is a boy or a girl?

Edited to add:  this one is super mellow.  I gently placed that die in the container, and then took it out again, and the spider made no attempt to even move.  Definately not aggressive-seeming (and yes, it is alive!).


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## cacoseraph (Mar 30, 2010)

mature male

edit: oops, you asked how... will edit that in



ok, see how the spider has four pairs of big legs... and then what looks like an extra pair of smaller legs right by the fangs and stuff?  well, those are pedipalps... and on the end of those i can see indications of the special organs that only males have, for mating purposes


edit2:
if you don't want to keep it you can probably get a small amount of money for it... but it being placid isn't a good sign. it's not a bad sign, necessarily... some bugs are just a lot "calmer" than most of their species.  hmm... in fact i kind of hope it is a calmer version... i would be interested in getting its genes down here to southern CA!


edit3:
i just realized that guy is TINY!  i'm not sure what that means.  unless that is a gag dice your little fellow is less than half the length of all the other mature males i have seen... hmm

i could be totally goofing scale, though.  when it stands "normally" about how big would you say the legspan is from the top right foot to the bottom left foot?


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## stacbing (Mar 30, 2010)

Okay, cool.  I was calling it a him just because I tend to think of spiders as males, unless I know otherwise (black widows, lol).  He is so tiny!  He really is mature?  What would he eat?  We are contemplating keeping him for a while, but now that we know he isn't a tarantula we figured we would just let him go.  We found him on our front porch last night.  Could he be looking for a mate?  

He is so pretty, I love his color; he looks like he would be as soft as silk, but no way will I touch him!


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## cacoseraph (Mar 30, 2010)

mature male spiders are pretty much always looking for a mate



can you take a picture of the spider with a flash?  if it is a longi it should turn brilliant silver on at least part of its body in the pic


the little dip in the center of the spider's back doesn't look 100% right to me... the size seems way way off. i'm starting to doubt this is a longi... but i sure can't think of anything else that it could be.  i might have to get my other computer out and look at my notes


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## stacbing (Mar 30, 2010)

Okay, give me a minute to upload pics...and no, that's not a trick die!

















He doesn't really look silver in the flash, does he?  And he actually was a lot more active when I picked the container up and put the quarter in.  It still seemed defensive, though, not out-right aggression.


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## cacoseraph (Mar 30, 2010)

i really wish i had taken pics of my males next to a ruler... :/

i need to get a good measuring picture rig setup so i can just run all my bugs through it and have good docu pictures almost automatically



lol... i didn't really think it was a trick die... but it would be pretty funny to make pics like that. hmm... :evil:


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## stacbing (Mar 30, 2010)

So can you tell me anything more about him now?  Is he still a Calisoga _something_?  Is he just some little trick spider who doesn't mean a thing?  Why can't he just be a baby tarantula?


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## cacoseraph (Mar 30, 2010)

i will try to get to my notes tomorrow

if it seems like i forgot just pm me. i am a bit of an idiot


it certainly is something!  if it isn't calisoga then, to me, that is actually more interesting than if it was.  it is definitely a mygalomorph.... that is the group that trapdoors, tarantulas, sydney funnelwebs, etc. all belong to.  here is the thing... i am decently familiar with CA mygs and i just can't think of what that could be, aside from Calisoga.  there are like, 4-5 described species of calisogas... and i haven't actually read the descriptions of any of them.  the larger silver spiders we call Calisoga longitarsus.  there is another bluer version we call C. theveneti.  i think i might have found a third in Mariposa county... look like Calisoga but it is "just" brown.... and not quite as cranky. found those browns right next to the blues, btw


in the mean time, let us wait and see if anyone more knowledgeable chimes in...  someone might have some good insight that i am just plain missing


man, i want to go Calisoga collecting now =P


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## KUJordan (Mar 30, 2010)

These guys are pretty cool for sure.  My fiance's family own a ton of land in Mendocino county, CA and every time I go out there I find _C. longitarsus _everywhere.  They are tough to flood out of their burrows though since the soil is so loose out there.  They are really cool spiders.  Almost as cool as the _Uroctonus mordax_ scorps that are under every single rock and log out there...


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