Calisoga longitarsis

[RADHouse]

I have fallen in love with this species and I am pretty surprised they are not more common in the hobby. Is there a reason for this? I would love any information anyone can give me. I would really like to find a few to start a breeding program so we can spread them around.

 

[Arthroverts]

Rarity mostly. A lot of collectors don't find them because they don't know where to look, captive breeding is practically nil, and when they are sold its just one or two sub-adults/adults at a time and they end up with people who just want them for pets as opposed to breeders seeking to establish them in the hobby. And when you do find one for sale you have to battle through the masses of Arachnoboards people (myself included) to try and buy it, ha ha.

Hope this helps,

Arthroverts

 

[checkmate]

There is a FB group dedicated to breeding Calisoga longitarsus (by Hazel Rah). Not sure if he has been successful but since I haven't seen any sales posts yet, I don't think he's had a viable sac. Couple people were breeding them back in the day (both longitarsus and theveneti) and distributed slings to get them established but I guess never really caught on. A few people know how to find them like Arthroverts mentioned but they can be pricey. I have some unsexed juvie/SA and will confirm sex whenever they molt.

 

[RADHouse]

If they are that popular here I can't fathom why there aren't a ton of slings for me to buy up. Slackers. Just kidding.

 

[Arthroverts]

If they are that popular here I can't fathom why there aren't a ton of slings for me to buy up. Slackers. Just kidding.

I actually know someone who is breeding I believe both C. longitarsis and theveneti, so hopefully we will see some more become available in the near future. But pretty much all non-tarantula mygalomorphs are "under-kept" here in the US.
There is more info in the threads at the bottom of this one under "Similar Threads". If you haven't already I'd suggest checking them out.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[mantisfan101]

I actually know someone who is breeding I believe both C. longitarsis and theveneti, so hopefully we will see some more become available in the near future. But pretty much all non-tarantula mygalomorphs are "under-kept" here in the US.
There is more info in the threads at the bottom of this one under "Similar Threads". If you haven't already I'd suggest checking them out.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

For real? That's awesome; keep us all updated! I saw someone on eBay of all places selling 2 specimens, both large juveniles or subadult females for about $250 plus shipping. Had I had enough money I would've bought them all but even then that's a really tough pill to swallow.

 

[Arthroverts]

For real? That's awesome; keep us all updated! I saw someone on eBay of all places selling 2 specimens, both large juveniles or subadult females for about $250 plus shipping. Had I had enough money I would've bought them all but even then that's a really tough pill to swallow.

You should know me by now not to be a dispenser of false information ...
Ha ha, just kidding. Anyway, yeah, hopefully soon you'll see them cropping up.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

 

[checkmate]

You should know me by now not to be a dispenser of false information ...
Ha ha, just kidding. Anyway, yeah, hopefully soon you'll see them cropping up.

Thanks,

Arthroverts

If you're talking about who I think you're talking about, they should be ready by next summer.

 

[RADHouse]

I have met a few people working on breeding them but they either haven't been successful or their spiders aren't mature. There doesn't seem to be much information on breeding them.

 

[USMuscle9403]

Didn't Mike Dame try to breed them several years ago? What ever became of that? I'm interested in these guys, as well.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

In a discussion about captive breeding Calisoga longitarsus, it is important to be aware of the phylogenetic results of Leavitt, et. al. (2015). The results of that study found that C. longitarsus is a cryptic species "including perhaps dozens of species." The study also shows the yet-to-be-named species and C. longitarsus of California to be morphologically indistinguishable from each other and can only be reliably identified through sequences of the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA.

This is a species of mygale that should not be captive bred until a full understanding of their biodiversity is reached. Even then, since the Californian Calisoga species won't be able to be easily identified, breeding efforts for the pet trade should only be taken over by those who have the skill and means to identify them with the appropriate gene sequences. Otherwise, we would have a bunch of potential hybrids floating around at worse case and best case there will be trouble breeding them due to lack of pairing the right species together.

 

[mantisfan101]

That is a valid point, but is sequencing via mitochondiral dna the only way to determine ehat species they are?

 

[RTTB]

The one I kept was perhaps one of the angriest spiders I have ever dealt with.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

That is a valid point, but is sequencing via mitochondiral dna the only way to determine ehat species they are?

According to the above referenced study, it is unknown as to whether sequencing a gene from mtDNA (CO1 was used in the 2015 Calisoga study as well as all other spider phylogenomic studies) will be useful. California Calisoga species apparently have a high variability in the CO1 gene making it difficult to determine where to draw the line on species delimitation. This is in contrast to the cryptic Aphonopelma species in the USA where the species boundaries are more clear in the CO1 gene. I can't elaborate more on this subject since the genetic stuff is way over my head and I don't want to give bad information based on ignorance. The main take-away though is that as of 2015, there are more than the one species of Calisoga (C. longitarsus) in California and further study needs to be done to determine how many and how to delimit them.

 

[RADHouse]

Do the different species share the same habitat? If not then it would probably be best to start a colony from wild caught animals from the same area. If they do and they are capable of hybridization then it is likely happening in the wild anyways, further confusing the species boundaries. If they are not pure in the wild and there is no way to guarantee "pure" animals does it matter that they stay "pure" in captivity?

 

[BobBarley]

Do the different species share the same habitat? If not then it would probably be best to start a colony from wild caught animals from the same area. If they do and they are capable of hybridization then it is likely happening in the wild anyways, further confusing the species boundaries. If they are not pure in the wild and there is no way to guarantee "pure" animals does it matter that they stay "pure" in captivity?

Species within the Calisoga genus can certainly be sympatric. If they are sympatric, there may be something that keeps them from hybridizing, whether it be different mating times, rituals, etc. It would be very, very difficult to know for sure whether or not 2 specimens from the same locale are the same species.

I agree with @AphonopelmaTX on this. Without morphological characteristics to separate species within the genus, they don’t really have a future in the hobby as pure species. Though, the argument can be made that so many of the species in the hobby are already unknowingly hybridized, etc,. If people are searching for absolutely pure specimens of a species, they probably should not be looking into cbb specimens within the hobby.

 

[Mamma Llama]

I recently collected a C. theveneti that was injured by my pup (a small quake agitated large numbers and sent them above ground around my home) but she seems great now. Within the first few days with me she built an impressive tube with a large chamber beneath and has since built a nursery. She left me the tiniest window to see. I can't seem to get a decent picture of the chamber due to glare. Once they have emerged I have a secure, protected place outdoors that I'll place the habitat so they can disperse naturally.

 

[CRX]

I recently collected a C. theveneti that was injured by my pup (a small quake agitated large numbers and sent them above ground around my home) but she seems great now. Within the first few days with me she built an impressive tube with a large chamber beneath and has since built a nursery. She left me the tiniest window to see. I can't seem to get a decent picture of the chamber due to glare. Once they have emerged I have a secure, protected place outdoors that I'll place the habitat so they can disperse naturally.
View attachment 392328

I know this is from July, but I'm eager to hear updates if you ever come back to this thread.

 

[Mamma Llama]

I know this is from July, but I'm eager to hear updates if you ever come back to this thread.

Hello! I'm excited to say that they emerged successfully, seemed healthy and, once they began to explore to the surface, I released the majority of the slings and the adult back to where she was originally located. I retained 6 slings who seem to all be doing well. They have yet to build their own 'tube' but appear content to hide within the sphagnum moss. They're quick and still small so pictures are difficult at this time. Attached are pictures of the female and slings on the day of release. Gorgeous!

 

[CRX]

Hello! I'm excited to say that they emerged successfully, seemed healthy and, once they began to explore to the surface, I released the majority of the slings and the adult back to where she was originally located. I retained 6 slings who seem to all be doing well. They have yet to build their own 'tube' but appear content to hide within the sphagnum moss. They're quick and still small so pictures are difficult at this time. Attached are pictures of the female and slings on the day of release. Gorgeous!

Thank you so much for doing a service to biodiversity and keeping the babies safe until release. I would love to hear more about the ones you kept as they mature and develop more.