# Liphistius malayanus male



## 8+) (Sep 10, 2007)

Yipee! I hope to be one of the first to breed these!

Knocking on his girl's door:







Closeup, notice regenerated leg:


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## Selenops (Sep 10, 2007)

Best of luck! I have been meaning to get some myself hopefully a breeding pair or two since they ain't going to be exported anymore.


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## Blaster (Sep 10, 2007)

Awesome, good luck with them!


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## Iggy (Sep 10, 2007)

That is great news!  Let me know how the breeding goes, none of mine are mature yet.


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## dtknow (Sep 10, 2007)

Wow...is that java moss I see growing all over?


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## syndicate (Sep 10, 2007)

very nice!whats the legspan on this male?


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## 8+) (Sep 11, 2007)

Looks to be about 3.5". That's "green moss" from a plant nursery.


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## P. Novak (Sep 11, 2007)

Have they mated yet?


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## 8+) (Sep 11, 2007)

I have no idea. I don't even know if I have a female. Here's a pic of the original setup:







I bought/traded for four from Jason of thearachnoporium.com. We tried to sex them by behavior. He sent me two "burrowers" and two "wanderers" thinking the wanderers were probably male. I put one in each compartment and sure enough the "females" burrowed and the "males" didn't. Then I cut little access holes for each "male" to one "female".

There was some action and I thought I was on to something, but eventually they all burrowed and stayed that way until this guy emerged. He had access to  one "female" already, so I put him on the other side so he could get to the other two burrows. The one he's hanging out at, was freshly molted when I got it, so that's hopeful.

These guys don't seem aggressive/defensive at all, including toward each other. Before they had all burrowed, I was spraying the enclosure and one of the ones that was out ran over, opened up the door, and crawled in with one of the other ones! It's my understanding that their burrows are found close together in the wild.


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## buthus (Sep 11, 2007)

Great effort!  Ill just throw in my order for two now since surely you'll have plenty soon!


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## 8+) (Sep 11, 2007)

Order? You know you get 'em for free if you want 'em!  

Everybody else, don't get any ideas! ;P


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## buthus (Sep 12, 2007)

_Order? You know you get 'em for free if you want 'em!_
ahh! finally someone willing to live under my persuasive power ...and I didnt even have to send Guido over with a dead fish.  :clap:  

Your boy better perform!   ;P


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## HaploFool (Mar 9, 2008)

*fantastic*

This is awesome to see... I have two L. Murphyorum which are still quite young. Since there's not a lot of official information about them yet I love reading about  how others are figuring them out. Awesome! Thanks ofr posting this.

Jason


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## mitchrobot (Mar 10, 2008)

any update on your liphs? 

i have a trio  of l.malayanus  (i also bought a 'male' from jason, with any luck it will be and mature soon  )....awsome bugs, id love to get more in the future


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## bakaichi (Mar 10, 2008)

whats the difference between these guy and Trap door spider?

all i can come up with is that ..they seem to be more ancient looking, still got the segmented abdomen 

or are they consider as trap door too ?


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## sick4x4 (Mar 10, 2008)

they are communal you know if your male is done i have several females that would like a encounter lol....heres a pic of one of my females





and her new home


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## What (Mar 10, 2008)

bakaichi said:


> whats the difference between these guy and Trap door spider?
> 
> all i can come up with is that ..they seem to be more ancient looking, still got the segmented abdomen
> 
> or are they consider as trap door too ?


Yes, these are a type of trapdoor. Very primative though. 

Suborder Mesothelae vs. Opisthothelae.


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## Pulk (Mar 11, 2008)

bakaichi said:


> whats the difference between these guy and Trap door spider?
> 
> all i can come up with is that ..they seem to be more ancient looking, still got the segmented abdomen
> 
> or are they consider as trap door too ?


trapdoor spider is a common name that applies to several families

liphistiidae in suborder mesothelae (only family in it)
and (someone correct me if i'm wrong)
barychelidae, ctenizidae, cyrtaucheniidae, and migidae in suborder opisthothele


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## Tescos (Mar 11, 2008)

Hi


sick4x4 said:


> they are communal you know


To what extent do you mean by this?



sick4x4 said:


> heres a pic of one of my females


Have you got clear photos of this spider? It looks interesting to me.
allthe best
Chris


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## sick4x4 (Mar 11, 2008)

they are all in their traps now, sorry... i'll try to get a few eating pics or when my new ones come in, hopefully in a week or so...

what i meant by communal, is that several can be housed together in an enclosure without cannibalism...the most i have seen together was 7-8(i think) by josh r....i only have 3 together now but that should go up to eight in a week or so.....


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## Tescos (Mar 12, 2008)

AH I see what you mean, but not what I would call communal though. Maybe more neighbour friendly......to an extent. 

I'm starting to wonder a little on all these ID's though. Maybe something or nothing but I have my reasons. 

btw what size is that specimen?
Cheers
Chris


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## Iggy (Mar 14, 2008)

*Here are a few shots of one of my males*

I was transferring him from one female enclosure to another and decided to take some pics while he was out.  I meant to put a coin in the photo as a size reference but I forgot.  His leg span is roughly 3-3.5in as pictured.  The last one is a close up of his pedipalps.  Cheers  Iggy


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## sick4x4 (Mar 14, 2008)

Tescos said:


> AH I see what you mean, but not what I would call communal though. Maybe more neighbour friendly......to an extent.
> 
> I'm starting to wonder a little on all these ID's though. Maybe something or nothing but I have my reasons.
> 
> ...


chris,
i belive josh stated that his would share traps...or by uncovering one trap, 2 specimens where inside lol...pretty neighborly if you ask me 

as far as id's go though, i think the real confusion is between these and the murphyorum...some seem to belive they might just be small or juvenile males but due to the murphyorum's not really possessing venom, they just might be 2 different species?????

i need males soo if anyone is interested in parting with theirs, i have more females then i know what to do with and no males 

wayne


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## Tescos (Mar 14, 2008)

> chris,
> i belive josh stated that his would share traps...or by uncovering one trap, 2 specimens where inside lol...pretty neighborly if you ask me


Hi
Yes I have seen this thread also. 
So now are they still living together in the same burrow? 
How big are the spiders that are shareing the burrow? 
Are they seen shareing the burrow enterence? 
Do they share caught pray?
Could this be a 'forced' communal activity due to lack of space? 
Does the lack of venom mean lack of aggression towards the same species? 
How would they behave towards another species of  _Liphistius_? 
Has this been observed in the wild?
Just a couple of things from the many, that I have wondered about since reading what Josh wrote. 



> as far as id's go though, i think the real confusion is between these and the murphyorum...some seem to belive they might just be small or juvenile males but due to the murphyorum's not really possessing venom, they just might be 2 different species?????


The some you refer to is I think me as if I recal I am the only one (at least on this web site) that has questioned this or? Also I see that you never read the reasons I questioned it, or you did and didn't fully understand them. Either way I do not belive this on any of the counts you stated.  You can read some of my thoughts on this thread and this thread but as yet no one has got back or been able to get back, with any of the extra information I asked for. Ah well.  but like I stated in those threads I could be wrong. So who has identified all the imports of these spiders?

BTW is it just _L.murphyorum _ not really possessing venom?I was always under the impression that all species of _Liphistius_ and _Heptathela_ (or should I say all species from the Liphistiidae ?) don't have venom glands/ducts etc.? 
If I am wrong (and it looks this way?) can someone show or tell where this information is please? 


All the best
Chris


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## sick4x4 (Mar 14, 2008)

good link, i never read that...let me see if i can find some locales to the ones that got imported recently...im not sure how exact they will be but it certainly seems you have done your homework regarding these Malaysian traps... soo i dont know how helpful i can be, as i recently started concentrating on these...

wayne


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## Tescos (Mar 14, 2008)

Hi Wayne

If you can get good information on the locales I think it could help quite a lot, and is going more in the right direction in getting a more possitive ID. Sending a specimen to or trying to get in contact with Prof Norman I. Platnick is I think going to be a really good idea also if finding out excactly what you keep is important to you (It doesn't have to be  ).

All the best
Chris


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## josh_r (Mar 14, 2008)

these guys are by no means communal. they are very tolerant of eachother. they will chase an intruder out of their burrows most of the time. i have never seen them bite at eachother, just kick. 

tescos, i have SEVRAL of what is called malayanus and they are all very different. i believe i have a few species here. one of my females is MONSTEROUS!!!  4+ inch legspan and JET SHINY BLACK. all my other girls are more around 3 inch legspans and are dull, flat black/brown with a slight deep burgundy wash going on. and others are dull black with a slight green wash and an orange abdomen. i dont know if this is differnt morphs of the same species or not. but i have noticed the black/ burgundy wash ones are smaller with shorter, thicker legs and much more robust carapace. the others are longer legged and not as robust. 

wayne, i have ONE subadult male. when he moults out and im done with him, he is comming your way.

as for sexing them... wandering is a horrible way to do it. i have females that did nothing but wander for a long time. my subadult male, he burrowed instantly and has made quite a home for himself. even subadult males have slightly swollen tarsi on the pedipalps. you can also sex them by the E. furrow. females will have a large heart shaped bump. males just have a tiny spot. you can sex them just as any tarantula or other trapdoor species. good luck guys. 

oh, i can use an extra male if anyone has one as well  the more chances we all have, the better. anyone else that wants to use my male after wayne and i are welcome to him

-josh


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## Tescos (Mar 14, 2008)

Hi Josh
Are any like the photos I sent you on yahoo? Or better yet can you send some pics?

Cheers
Chris


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## sick4x4 (Mar 14, 2008)

Tescos said:


> Hi Wayne
> 
> If you can get good information on the locales I think it could help quite a lot, and is going more in the right direction in getting a more possitive ID. Sending a specimen to or trying to get in contact with Prof Norman I. Platnick is I think going to be a really good idea also if finding out excactly what you keep is important to you (It doesn't have to be  ).
> 
> ...


chris,
it is and any contact info would be greatly appreciated...i would love to clear up the confusion... as i hate having to apologize for wrong info which as you can see when josh chimed in, is more than im comfortable with...lol

wayne


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## Tescos (Mar 14, 2008)

Hi Wayne

Maybe try on this page:-
click me then scrole about and you should find what you seek  

cheers
Chris


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## josh_r (Mar 14, 2008)

tescos, i will try to take some pics of several individuals for you and post them. 

i just looked at the pics you sent me. they do look very much like the pics you sent. i have several that are the dull black with burgundy wash and one that is VERY JET SHINY BLACK like one in a pic you sent me. here are the pics you sent me

[Edit: photos used without permission]

the jet shiny black thing is HUGE!! 4+ inch legspan. the others are smaller, about 3+ legspan

i have also noticed differences in how they build their triplines. the jet black things tend to make short, thick triplines with many strands and the burguny washed looking ones make very long triplines with a single strand

-josh


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## Tescos (Mar 15, 2008)

Hi Josh

I know the pics I sent you so no need to post them up. I am a little anoyed and dissapointed you did this with my photos to be honest. Please don't do this again. 

On another note it is very interesting to me about the trip lines. Can you show us it a photo what you mean? as I would like to see what mine look like in comparrison.
Cheers
Chris


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## josh_r (Mar 15, 2008)

i am sorry tescos. i did however clarify they were your pictures. in any case, you now know exactly what i am talking about. i will try to take pics of the triplines and post them.


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## Tescos (Mar 17, 2008)

NP Josh. Look forward to seeing those pics when they are done.

Chris


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## MaartenSFS (Jun 22, 2008)

We supposedly have these and other trap-doors around here, allthough I can't find them for the life of me. The question about the venom was never answered and I too would like to know if they are venomous or not. I'm dying to find me some trap-doors! :wall:


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## josh_r (Jun 22, 2008)

liphistius have no venom at all. others do. there is nothing really known about the venom of most trapdoor spiders so your guess is as good as ours.

look for liphistius on road cuts and look for the long strands of silk radiating out from the trapdoor. they should be fairly easy to find once you train your eyes for what to look for.


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## MaartenSFS (Jun 23, 2008)

josh_r said:


> liphistius have no venom at all. others do. there is nothing really known about the venom of most trapdoor spiders so your guess is as good as ours.
> 
> look for liphistius on orad cuts and look for the long strands of silk radiating out from the trapdoor. they should be fairly easy to find once you train your eyes for what to look for.


Thanks! That's where I've been finding the Macrothele. They seem to be plentiful and I've been experimenting to see if they are "communal". I'll be on the lookout for them.


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