Aphonopelma Genus

Jeff23

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Why are most of these spiders so rare in the USA?

Aphonopelma armada (Texas Black Spot)
Aphonopelma behlei (Grand Canyon Black)
Aphonopelma chalcodes (Arizona Blond)
Aphonopelma hentzi (Texas Brown or Oklahoma Brown)
Aphonopelma paysoni (Payson Blonde)

I see lots Arizona Blond spiders for sell, but the others are absent on every USA site I could find. Is it the lack of profitability by sellers or do people mostly prefer spiders that are not native to their own country? Or perhaps half the country can find them in their backyards?

The Aphonopelma seemanni (Costa-Rican Zebra) seems to be common as well, but it probably isn't native to USA

My wish list includes the Payson Blond and Grand Canyon Black.
 

jiacovazzi

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A. hentzi and A. chalcodes are not rare. I see them with regularity on price lists, and I have a ton.

Also, According to recent revision: A. paysoni is actually A. chalcodes, and A. behlei is now A. marxi
 

Jeff23

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A. hentzi and A. chalcodes are not rare. I see them with regularity on price lists, and I have a ton.

Also, According to recent revision: A. paysoni is actually A. chalcodes, and A. behlei is now A. marxi
I haven't seen any A. hentzi, but it may be timing or me not looking at the right places as a newbie. It is good to know about the A. paysoni being chalcodes. I was basing part of my search using people's opinions on the spider being defensive or going into threat posture. Every comment for the paysoni said it is very docile, but some comments have stated the chalcodes is more of a mixed bag.

By the way I like your signature quote.
 

jiacovazzi

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Each spider is different regarding temperament, I have some chalcodes that will threat pose at the slightest provocation and others are docile enough to be handled.
 

ErinM31

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As others have said, you can find A. chalcodes
Why are most of these spiders so rare in the USA?

Aphonopelma armada (Texas Black Spot)
Aphonopelma behlei (Grand Canyon Black)
Aphonopelma chalcodes (Arizona Blond)
Aphonopelma hentzi (Texas Brown or Oklahoma Brown)
Aphonopelma paysoni (Payson Blonde)

I see lots Arizona Blond spiders for sell, but the others are absent on every USA site I could find. Is it the lack of profitability by sellers or do people mostly prefer spiders that are not native to their own country? Or perhaps half the country can find them in their backyards?

The Aphonopelma seemanni (Costa-Rican Zebra) seems to be common as well, but it probably isn't native to USA

My wish list includes the Payson Blond and Grand Canyon Black.
While you CAN find A. chalcodes and A. hentzi on price lists and I certainly wouldn't call them rare, they are less frequently available than non-native species, including A. seemanni (I believe that species is from Costa Rica). I assume it is demand. Many prefer the largest or most colorful tarantulas and overlook the subtle beauty of the Aphonopelma genus. Living in Texas, I am hoping to find A. anax and A. armada. I would love to acquire more of the Arizona natives, including A. paloma, A. peloncillo and A. saguaro but I have never seen those offered anywhere. Plus, I think it would be a good thing for the species with limited range to be bred and maintained in captivity as insurance for the species' survival.
 

Jeff23

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I did misuse the word "rare". I meant to question whether they are "rarely" for sale.
 

magicmed

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I actually recently picked up a Aphonopelma hentzi at 3"dls for $7. I think they're just so undesirable in the trade that not many people breed them, so not many dealers carry them.

As far as the others, not sure, but I do see the chalcodes on the classifieds pretty regularly
 

ErinM31

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I actually recently picked up a Aphonopelma hentzi at 3"dls for $7. I think they're just so undesirable in the trade that not many people breed them, so not many dealers carry them.

As far as the others, not sure, but I do see the chalcodes on the classifieds pretty regularly
That's true. I have seen A. chalcodes in the classifieds more than the price lists of dealers I watch (TarantulaSpiders is the only one I know of who regularly carries them). It is a shame that A. hentzi is so dismissed just because it is common. I believe they come in various combinations of grays and browns that are lovely in their own way and the species generally has a good temperament. I hope to find these as well and may already have an A. hentzi sling. I bought this lovely gray Aphonopelma sling (dls ~2") for only $5 at a local expo and I believe it was @Smokehound714 who IDed it as most likely being A. hentzi. :)
It likes it's water dish far more than I would expect of any dessert species but I just keep it full and let the substrate around the dish get slightly moist while everywhere else stays dry. I just hope that it is not a sign of some disease -- it was wild-caught.
 

AphonopelmaTX

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I believe they come in various combinations of grays and browns that are lovely in their own way and the species generally has a good temperament.
They really don't. :) This species likes to change shades of browns and blacks between molts though.

In addition, I'm glad the USA species of Aphonopelma isn't in the pet trade. There are far too many that look the same, and some where there are no way to tell apart except by locality or molecular markers. The hobby in general can't ID their spiders even when perfectly clear descriptions are available for free on the internet. Dealers and sellers don't include precise collection data for their stock or the offspring of the adults which makes making a guess impossible. These two aspects in the hobby will make for a huge mess if they were established in the pet trade. Even now, I will never ever buy USA Aphonopelma species just because I can not trust the ID placed on them.
 
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ErinM31

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They really don't. :) This species likes to change shades of browns and blacks between molts though.
Good to know! All the more reason then that I would like to obtain some of the truly gray Aphonopelma species! :)
 

CyclingSam

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It wasn't on this list, but I wish more A. moderatums where available. I think it is one of the more beautiful A.s and I miss mine.
 

z32upgrader

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I have a bunch of new Aphonopelma, all properly identified by Dr. Hendrixson from the ATS Conference.
I have slings of
iodious
eutylenum
marxi x6
vorheisi
and a 2" gabeli
Like AphonopelmaTX said, They looks very much alike. I'm going to be as careful as possible to keep them properly labelled.
 
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ErinM31

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It wasn't on this list, but I wish more A. moderatums where available. I think it is one of the more beautiful A.s and I miss mine.
They are attractive but notoriously bad-tempered (probably not the most accurate term but you know what I mean!) Did you find this to be the case? I might be able to find one for you. I'm going to be searching in areas where they are found, but I must confess that I have not yet found -- much less captured -- a free-range tarantula before! :bag:
 

ErinM31

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I have a bunch of new Aphonopelma, all properly identified by Dr. Hendrixson from the ATS Conference.
I have slings of
iodious
eutylenum
marksi x6
vorheisi
and a 2" gabeli
Like AphonopelmaTX said, They looks very much alike. I'm going to be as careful as possible to keep them properly labelled.
Wow, congratulations!!! Where did you get them?
 

CyclingSam

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They are attractive but notoriously bad-tempered (probably not the most accurate term but you know what I mean!) Did you find this to be the case? I might be able to find one for you. I'm going to be searching in areas where they are found, but I must confess that I have not yet found -- much less captured -- a free-range tarantula before! :bag:
I recently started seeing comments saying that they are a bit bad tempered. I did not find that the case at all. I had mine when I was 14- 15 and it was handled a lot. It did kick UCs, but they were pretty mild. It did strike at me once, but I was an idiot and provoked it and very much deserved the defensive display (I pulled it out of its hide with a hooked shaped pipe cleaner!!!). All in all, it was a very chill T.
 

ErinM31

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I recently started seeing comments saying that they are a bit bad tempered. I did not find that the case at all. I had mine when I was 14- 15 and it was handled a lot. It did kick UCs, but they were pretty mild. It did strike at me once, but I was an idiot and provoked it and very much deserved the defensive display (I pulled it out of its hide with a hooked shaped pipe cleaner!!!). All in all, it was a very chill T.
Good to know! I wonder whether you were quite lucky or they have unfairly acquired a bad rap? I might keep one myself if I am able to find them. :)
 

Crone Returns

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Mar 22, 2016
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I have a bunch of new Aphonopelma, all properly identified by Dr. Hendrixson from the ATS Conference.
I have slings of
iodious
eutylenum
marksi x6
vorheisi
and a 2" gabeli
Like AphonopelmaTX said, They looks very much alike. I'm going to be as careful as possible to keep them properly labelled.
Show off... :drowning:Yes I'm jealous.
 

z32upgrader

Arachnobaron
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Wow, congratulations!!! Where did you get them?
One marxi sling was given for free to everyone who attended the ATS Conference this year. Bought the gabeli for a "Jackson", won the iodious, vorheisi, eutylenum, and five more marxi in the raffle with a chalcodes sling too.
 

ErinM31

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One marxi sling was given for free to everyone who attended the ATS Conference this year. Bought the gabeli for a "Jackson", won the iodious, vorheisi, eutylenum, and five more marxi in the raffle with a chalcodes sling too.
Wow, I never heard of the "ATS Conference" but sounds like something I need to attend!!! :astonished: I'm guessing that stands for "American Tarantula Society"? I asked Google and only came up with American Thoracic Society. o_O

And congrats again on the awesome T's! :D
 

BobBarley

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Wow, I never heard of the "ATS Conference" but sounds like something I need to attend!!! :astonished: I'm guessing that stands for "American Tarantula Society"? I asked Google and only came up with American Thoracic Society. o_O

And congrats again on the awesome T's! :D
Yeah, if I'm not mistaken, they didn't have one last year, but they should have one this year.
 
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