Black Trapdoor caught in VA...

-Sarah-

-Sarah-

Arachnobaron
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My grandma was transplanting a tree earlier today and came across this Trapdoor spider. Apparently her shovel just missed completely demolishing the burrow it was residing in. Naturally I had to bring it home to get photos :rolleyes: Almost looks like or is an Ummidia spp.? It looks female and it looks gravid... Here's 4 small shots of it that I got while it was in a large petri dish. I have it in a suitable container with deep peat moss and the remains of her burrow and door. She's checking it out at the moment, I expect she'll be busy tonight reconstructing it :D

What kind of Trapdoor it is.. *That* I am not sure of. Anyone have any suggestions? She's a gorgeous little thing!







 
jsloan

jsloan

Arachnoangel
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cacoseraph said:
in your first shot i tink i see the bend in the tibia that marks it as Ummidia
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Yup, I see that, too. In the third picture you can also see what SONA (Ubick, et al) describes as a "transverse thoracic furrow typically very deep and procurved," which is characteristic of the family, Ctenizidae.

So, I also agree it's probably Ummidia sp.

Nice find! You were very lucky to get hold of a female. :)

What size is it?
 
-Sarah-

-Sarah-

Arachnobaron
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Thanks for the replies! I had a feeling that's what she is. Think she's gravid or just simply fat from eating well? :) I hope she is gravid.. She is just beautiful. She is already in her burrow!
 
Protectyaaaneck

Protectyaaaneck

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Cool looking spider but what is that thing coming from it's mouth? (well at least I think it's the mouth)-I'm not familiar with trapdoor's.
 
P

Pacmaster

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Nice find Sarah!
Id buy a sling if she has em . . .
She certainly looks it to me, but what do I know . . . :?

:cool:


Looks like maybe old webbing stuck to her?
 
E

Endagr8

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WHAT!?! :eek: That's awesome! :clap: I didn't know Va. had any mygalomorphs!

What county did you find her in? I hope it's near Culpeper! (fingers crossed)
 
-Sarah-

-Sarah-

Arachnobaron
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She's about an inch or so... Pretty stocky little bugger! :D

I'm in SW VA so, it's a good drive from Culpeper Co. Sorry about that Endagr8! From what I've been reading they go down as far as Florida (From Virginia) and they're also out in California. As far as that funky thing... It could be a piece of web or a small piece of grass root? I'm really not sure. It doesn't seem to bother her much, she's kind of covered in dirt... :rolleyes:

I don't know what I'm going to do if she has slings!

Probably freak out... ;) I think that's what I'll most likely do.
 
-Sarah-

-Sarah-

Arachnobaron
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Big Red TJ said:
here she go's the roach thing:p
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Just 'cause you're too chicken to have roaches doesn't mean other people can't {D



Thanks! If she's gravid this will be very interesting, I might refresh my memory a little by digging up some archives I have. She's wild-caught and super-fat so I will be keeping my fingers crossed.
 
cacoseraph

cacoseraph

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if she makes eggs let the babies stay with themom as lnog as possible. baby trapdoors *seem* like a cute idea, and they are indeed cute... but they are super hard to care for. if you keep them in dirt they make these hideously small trapdoors and are just about impossible to feed unless you have a seriously wide range of non-standard feeders. a buddy had some success keeping the babies singly in vials with just a couple small pieces of paper towel... he would rip open the burrows they would make when it was time to feed them... the babies WILL eat off of prekilled stuff but they seemed quite particular about what triggers them to leave their burrow to actually get to the food.


if she makes babies your best bet would probably be to leave them in her burrow with her for a year or however long they stay in nature... you can feed her as normal and the babies will feed off of her food :)
 
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Pulk

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Also, the babies will take forever to mature. I think some second instars What was taking care of took over a year to molt, and there was no measurable growth. (That was B. californicum... maybe Ummidia is different, but a decade(s)-long commitment isn't really something to be excited about)
 
W

What

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Pulk said:
I think some second instars What was taking care of took over a year to molt, and there was no measurable growth.
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Uh... They got measurably smaller... Carapace size went from 1.5mm to 1mm after the molt. But anyways, yes, it took over a year in captivity for it to molt, with no idea how long it had already been a 2nd instar before collection.
 
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