A. bicoloratum versus B. Boehmei

[kellygirl]

what are the differences between these two species? the a.bicoloratum seems to be a little duller or tanner in coloration but it varies from picture to picture. i feel like there is some difference in the carapace, not in color (per se), but in shape. am i imagining things? and i know you're not supposed to base identification solely on coloration as that has little to do with the scientific identification. what would you say is the secret to telling these 2 species apart?

kellygirl

 

[Code Monkey]

Not much other than genus

The boehmi is much brighter colored next to a bicoloratum, having a bright red orange verus a much duller earthy orange. Bicoloratums are also a less nervous spider, boehmis are notorious for being hair kickers. As far as the marking pattern goes they're identical except that bicoloratum's chelicerae tend to be blacker but that's only a generalisation. Other than that, they're both desert dwelling terrestrial Ts.

The solution is clearly to get both

 

[kellygirl]

so code, is there no difference between the carapace shapes? on e-spiderworld, he has descriptions of a lot of species. here's what he said about these 2:

Aphonopelma bicoloratum
Mexican Bloodleg
A rare and beautiful spider, extremely slow-growing but very long life expectancy. Not a large species with growth only to 4" or so. Brown abdomen with a scattering of red hairs with a tan carapace, red patella, tibia and metatarsus, actually very similar to B. boehmei. Desert terrestrial will probably burrow if given the opportunity.

Brachypelma boehmei
Mexican Fireleg
Another of the Mexican species with beautiful bright red/orange legs with black femurs. The carapace is black with orange hairs and the abdomen is also black. A long-lived terrestrial species from the Mexican state of Guerrero, very docile but with a tendency to flick urticating hairs.

but from the pictures i've seen, the boehmei does not appear to have a black carapace..... :?

kellygirl

 

[atavuss]

IME, the boehmei gets larger and bulkier than the bicoloratums. I have an adult female boehmei, a juv female and a juv male.
I have several adult female bicoloratums and a juv male along with several unsexed lings. I like the color of the boehmei (especially stunning right after a molt) but the disposition of the bicoloratum is generally better.
Ed

 

[Advocatus]

As I see it, the boehmei has a black carapace, but the color just isn't getting through. All you see is the orange hairs ( as in the description above ). Can anyone second that?

 

[Phillip]

What CM said sums it up pretty well.

The main difference is that bicoloratum is more of an yellowy/gold orange where boehmei is more of a reddish orange. Both are awesome looking but the boehmei is a tad brighter. Boehmei is also more flighty and prone to flick hair as was previously mentioned. That being said I love them both and the bicoloratum seems to be less common in collections.

Phil

 

[Garrick]

Bicoloratum is not only less colorful, it's a bit more leggy from the individuals I've seen.
Also, the leg coloring is a bit more defined on most B. boehmei.
What really separates the two, however, is that their sexual organs are COMPLETELY different. The spermathecae of bicoloratum is more closely related to A. seemani. Also, the males of bicoloratum are black overall, no orange legs, whereas the males of B. boehmei are stunning. . .the kind of stunningly red that merits a "Wow!"

-Garrick

 

[atavuss]

Originally posted by Garrick
Bicoloratum is not only less colorful, it's a bit more leggy from the individuals I've seen.
Also, the leg coloring is a bit more defined on most B. boehmei.
What really separates the two, however, is that their sexual organs are COMPLETELY different. The spermathecae of bicoloratum is more closely related to A. seemani. Also, the males of bicoloratum are black overall, no orange legs, whereas the males of B. boehmei are stunning. . .the kind of stunningly red that merits a "Wow!"

-Garrick

I just wanted to add that MATURE males get the overall black color. if I remember correctly just about all aphonopelma males turn black on their mature molt. the first time I had a aphonopelma male molt mature I was wondering "how the heck did that get in there, and where did it come from?!".
Ed

 

[krystal]

Originally posted by Garrick
Also, the males of bicoloratum are black overall, no orange legs, whereas the males of B. boehmei are stunning. . .the kind of stunningly red that merits a "Wow!"

ah ha! a while ago, the discovery channel did an ultimate guide to spiders (or was it another discovery spider show?) where what i thought was a b. boehmei and a dull brown tarantula were about to mate--i assumed that male b. boehmei t's were the dull brown color and the females were their brightly colored counterpart (because the voice-over said that this "peacock of the desert" was one of the rare species that mated with males who were the dull brown color). that is until i found out my b. boehmei was male, then i was just confused. it's good to know the discovery channel knew what they were talking about--however, it would have been nice to let the viewers know the species they were talking about.