# Damon medius and her babies



## Forcep (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm certainly not an expert in whipspider; I bought her on a show as _Damon medius_, but any info on the taxonomy would be appreciated.



Soon she laid some eggs



L1 babies hatched



Newly molted L2 babies



A well fed L2, with its mother.



Those whiplings are very active and voracious; they can handle pretty large preys, which makes them much easier than the florida whipspider babies I had before.

I've left 5 whiplings to stay with their mother; they seem to be less skittish than the nymphs I separated out, and the mom do give me a threaten pose sometimes when disturbed... seems some parental care may be going on here

Reactions: Like 1


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## numbat1000 (Apr 24, 2015)

Awesome!  What is the legspan on this specimen?

Good luck with the babies!


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## schmiggle (Apr 24, 2015)

Very nice!  I'm impressed you were able to find d. medius in america...i think it's one of the biggest damon species (assuming it's what you have--I can't identify among whipspiders at all).
Good luck!


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## Forcep (Apr 29, 2015)

I'm not sure about how to measure arachnid legspan, but the width of her chelicerae in resting position is about 3 inch.


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## schmiggle (Apr 29, 2015)

Wow, that's huge!  Especially for a female...the male pedipalps (I assume you meant pedipalps--the arms, as opposed to chelicerae--mouthparts) are often much bigger, which would mean 4-5" for a male!  Jealousy on jealousy   I think I've usually heard a foot for damon; does that sound about right for legspan?


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## pannaking22 (Apr 29, 2015)

Probably not _D. medius_ since those are really rare in the US. Most likely _D. diadema_, though I will say the coloration is a bit lighter. Regardless, congrats on the brood!  _Damon_ whiplings are a lot of fun to keep.

If you can get an up close shot of just a pedipalp, that may help with identification. There are a couple people here on AB who know their amblypygid taxonomy really well.


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## Desert scorps (May 4, 2015)

Forcep said:


> I'm certainly not an expert in whipspider; I bought her on a show as _Damon medius_, but any info on the taxonomy would be appreciated.
> View attachment 136111
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> 
> ...


Man those are amazing! I have been looking for tailless whip scorpion babies, are any for sale?


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## edgeofthefreak (May 5, 2015)

pannaking22 said:


> Probably not _D. medius_ since those are really rare in the US. Most likely _D. diadema_, though I will say the coloration is a bit lighter. Regardless, congrats on the brood!  _Damon_ whiplings are a lot of fun to keep.
> 
> If you can get an up close shot of just a pedipalp, that may help with identification. There are a couple people here on AB who know their amblypygid taxonomy really well.


My first thought on this: D. diadema adult female's pedipalp 'elbow' doesn't exceed the length past the 'elbow' of the first pair of walking legs. In adults, this is makes it easy for telling the genders apart. In the OPs photo, the elbows are longer (or further apart), even if only by about 1/2".

Though I may be wrong, as I'm very new to amblies. Someone with hands-on knowledge to chime in?


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