Brachypelma Annitha?

Squid

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I came across a vendor at a reptile expo selling a tarantula labelled as a Mexican Orange knee for $175 cad, I bought her because I wasn’t aware that red knees and orange knees weren’t the same, but when I got home with a reliable wifi connection I did a little more research and turns out the two are different, but very similar.

From what I’ve seen on the internet it seems like she might actually be an annitha, and they weren’t just mislabelling a smithi(or did the name change to hamorii?). But I thought I should get a few opinions from people more familiar with the species too. There were no other vendors with red or orange knees to compare to, and I don’t recall seeing any larger than a sling in the past, so was that a decent price for her or did I just get ripped off? She’s ~4.5 inches
 

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Liquifin

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It does somewhat look like a B. smithi, but i'm no expert. If I had to take a second guess it could a hybrid of hamorii and smithi, since people hybridize them back in the day accidentally. Well... I'm no Brachypelma expert, so maybe someone else can tackle the issue of ID.
But here's the simple way of the revision: Annitha became smithi, and smithi became hamorii.
So I hope this helps: Annitha ➡ smithi ➡ hamorii
 

Squid

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But here's the simple way of the revision: Annitha became smithi, and smithi became hamorii.
So I hope this helps: Annitha ➡ smithi ➡ hamorii
Thanks! It seemed like every website I looked at called it something different so I was pretty confused on what the proper names were, that helps a lot!
 

Nightstalker47

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Smithi were always in fact hamorii, but were labelled wrong until the revision. Annitha is and was always smithi.

Important thing to note is that there were only ever two species there, not three.
 

Vanessa

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Thanks! It seemed like every website I looked at called it something different so I was pretty confused on what the proper names were, that helps a lot!
Wow, I'm shocked that any vendor in Canada would be selling tarantulas at an expo using common names only. I've never seen it, but I would probably avoid them if I did.
 

Squid

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Wow, I'm shocked that any vendor in Canada would be selling tarantulas at an expo using common names only. I've never seen it, but I would probably avoid them if I did.
It was a reptile vendor that only had that one and a G. pulchripes, the people working at that table seemed like they barely knew anything about the tarantulas when they were explaining how to approach them when they got aggressive (I mentioned to my friend that my other T would have bitten me if I tried to pick her up and move her and the guy started talking to me like I just didnt know how to approach them properly.. even though Im pretty sure my coloratovillosus would get angry no matter how I tried to come at her)
 

FrDoc

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I think you did well. I am at the point of a very short list of T’s to add to my collection, but B. smithi is on that list. I don’t understand why folks confuse them with hamorri. I see a marked difference, and I subjectively opine that smithi is a far better looking spood.
 

jrh3

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Smithi were always in fact hamorii, but were labelled wrong until the revision. Annitha is and was always smithi.

Important thing to note is that there were only ever two species there, not three.
So are you saying, The true smithi is Annitha? And hamorii is what we used to call smithi? Anyone got pics to compare hamorii and annitha?
 

dangerforceidle

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So are you saying, The true smithi is Annitha? And hamorii is what we used to call smithi? Anyone got pics to compare hamorii and annitha?
Brachypelma annitha was determined to be a junior synonym of B. smithi, and is now no longer an accepted name.

Many of the specimens captured for the pet trade and labeled as B. smithi were in fact B. hamorii.
 

jrh3

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Brachypelma annitha was determined to be a junior synonym of B. smithi, and is now no longer an accepted name.

Many of the specimens captured for the pet trade and labeled as B. smithi were in fact B. hamorii.
Ok, I was wondering because I see Annitha for sale currently in the classified section here. Wonder why they are still labeling them as Annitha if they are not valid.
 

dangerforceidle

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Ok, I was wondering because I see Annitha for sale currently in the classified section here. Wonder why they are still labeling them as Annitha if they are not valid.
Some people are slower to adapt taxonomic changes than others. Individuals sold as B. annitha would likely be B. smithi (the real one, not the one commonly sold which was actually B. hamorii). I would contact the seller and have them clarify before sending them any money from my assumptions, however, if you are interested in purchasing one.
 
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