Cross breeding jumping spiders?

[Camry]

I saw a website listing P. Regius and P. Otiosus hybrids. I was wondering if this is a normal thing and what the success rate for something like this would be?

 

[Ungoliant]

I saw a website listing P. Regius and P. Otiosus hybrids. I was wondering if this is a normal thing and what the success rate for something like this would be?

I don't know how common it is, but in this community, it is generally frowned upon to deliberately create hybrids.

 

[Faeriedragon]

It’s because they cross breed in the wild as well if they come into contact which isn’t often as Otiosus usually live in trees. Regius will also cross breed with Audax apparently. These are the only ones that hybrid though, I’m not the biggest fan of it but as it can happen in the wild that’s why people see it as fine.

Also bear in mind that P. Regius are different colours depending on the local and it’s possible that could be due to hybridisation with Audax and Otiosus in certain areas.

 

[Camry]

I don't know how common it is, but in this community, it is generally frowned upon to deliberately create hybrids.

Why is it frowned upon?

 

[Ungoliant]

Why is it frowned upon?

The most common objections to hybrids fall under two categories: the practical (contaminating the gene pool) and the philosophical (concerns about playing god or aesthetic judgments).

The practical:

• Hybrids contaminate the gene pools, because hybrid offspring are often sold as pure-bred members of one parent's species. (Even if they are initially labeled as hybrids, there is no guarantee that all subsequent owners will do the same, that the hybrids won't also be bred, or that any second-generation hybrids will all be labeled correctly.)
• Hybrids are not always sterile.
• Hybrids are not always easy to distinguish from pure-bred parent species (we have dozens of threads where users can't tell if their tarantulas are hybrids), increasing the likelihood that they will be bred.
• Hybridization has been cited as the primary reason that hobby tarantulas are unsuitable for conservation purposes. (Conservationists don't want to use hybrids as breeding stock or release hybrids into the wild.)
• This hobby relies on captive breeding. Once we have polluted hobby stock with hybrids, there is no going back. (Collecting spiders from the wild, particularly species that may be threatened, may be unsustainable -- and even illegal.)
• Spiders can create a lot of offspring. You're not talking about one or two hybrids but possibly hundreds or even thousands (depending on the species).
• Long-lived spiders like tarantulas are likely to have multiple owners in their lifetimes, increasing the likelihood that a hybrid might end up with someone who doesn't know or care not to breed it.
• It is common practice to sell or trade mature males for breeding purposes.
• Hybrids are less desirable than pure-bred species. There is a high likelihood you will end up with a bunch of spiders no one wants. (This is one of the reasons they often end up being sold as pure-bred; few people want them otherwise.)

The philosophical:

• We shouldn't play god or mess with nature. While hybridization sometimes occurs naturally in the wild without any human influence (e.g., species introduction or habitat destruction), it is less common among native species in wilderness environments than defenders of hybridization often claim. (Nature has created many mechanisms to prevent hybridization in the wild.)
• Hybrids are often less attractive than pure-bred members of either species.

If you search previous threads, you can find many discussions on this topic; it's a hot-button issue:

• Cross breed?!?!???
• Cross breeding
• What if MM g. Pulchra and MF g. Pulchripes cross breeds?: one of the best recent discussions
• Can you tell if your tarantula is a hybrid
• WHY do people cross breed T's??
• hybrid species possible?
• cross breeding.
• cross breeding?
• Hybrid Poll
• Why aren't cross beeds more common?
• Cross breading question
• Hybrid
• What do you think of hybrid??
• Golden knee mating with a rosea
• Avic Versicolor/Peru Purple/ Hybrid Project
• How many of you had owned a Hybrid T....
• any one tried crossbreed Ts?
• Will A genic and A broc cross breed? Guessing no
• Cross breeding what is the deal?
• Hybrid Brachypelma sp!!
• why are people doing this?!
• Another hybrid question
• Cross/Hybrid Breed
• Cross breeds !
• cross
• Hybrid research
• Cross Beeding Brachypelma Sp.
• hybrid t's
• cross-breeding t's
• cross breeding
• Can i cross breed pokie species?
• Scientific answers to cross breeding questions
• Cross Breed.....Freak or Not opinions
• crossbreeding new world X old world
• Avicularia purpurea X A.Avic?
• Hybrid Success?
• is cross breeding possible?
• cross breeding?
• Why not X-breed or create hybrids?
• Mexican Fantasy??? What the heck is it?
• cross-species breeding?
• Cross breeding any T's
• X breeding
• Usumbara X starburst baboon (P. murinus)
• hybrid?
• Hybrid Tarantulas

 

[Faeriedragon]

Wow I didn’t realise people ask about hybrids that much? It seems kinda crazy. Personally I just see it as pointless with spiders (and I am someone that owns hybrid mammals) there is no goal to the breeding of 2 different species so why do it?

I suppose the easy answer is money and people don’t have to look for 2 of the same species especially if females of a certain species are very expensive, plus they can just sell on the babies for a profit especially as with spiders you don’t really get an idea of adult colouring as slings and they could be easily passed off as the more expensive species.

To me I just see it as it’s not beneficial for the animals, the hobby or conservation so why do it?

The other thing is jumping spiders can have multiple clutches and lay 100’s of eggs at a time (I know of one female that laid 4 eggsacks off one mating) she’s had close to 1000 babies now I think from that one mating (Regal jumper) and could you honestly find homes for them all? As you can’t just release them into the wild considering they are hybrids and what that would do to the wild population. If hybridization happens in the wild its very rare with jumpers and most slings in the wild won’t survive so the impact is low, with captive bred the mortality rate is a lot lower so more will survive to reproduce. It’s about being responsible.

The only acceptable ones to me would be colour morphs of the same species.

 

[Ungoliant]

Wow I didn’t realise people ask about hybrids that much?

It's a surprisingly common question. I only linked about a third of the threads I saw in the search results. (I didn't include threads that were just asking if a particular spider looked like a hybrid, threads that were killed by moderators before a debate could take off, or threads that just ended in instructions for using the search function.)

There are probably many other threads that did not include the word "hybrid" or "cross" in the title. (For my own sanity, I limited my results to threads with either those words in the title.)

 

[PtwnHustle]

Audax and regius can't hybridize.

It’s because they cross breed in the wild as well if they come into contact which isn’t often as Otiosus usually live in trees. Regius will also cross breed with Audax apparently. These are the only ones that hybrid though, I’m not the biggest fan of it but as it can happen in the wild that’s why people see it as fine.

Also bear in mind that P. Regius are different colours depending on the local and it’s possible that could be due to hybridisation with Audax and Otiosus in certain areas.

 

[Faeriedragon]

Audax and regius can't hybridize.

I’ve heard some say they can thats why I said apparently they can although it’s possible people misidentified a Regius male as an Audax, personally I’ve only seen Otiosus/Regius offspring.

 

[PtwnHustle]

It must be the confusion between audax and regius males. I've only ever heard of otiosus/regius hybrids also.

I’ve heard some say they can thats why I said apparently they can although it’s possible people misidentified a Regius male as an Audax, personally I’ve only seen Otiosus/Regius offspring.[/QUOTE]

 

[LunarValkyrie]

P audax and P Clarus have been crossbred successfully but most males are sterile. Females however have been bred back to either species and also been successful. They as said above cross territories in the wild. Some folks frown on hybrids and some don't. The biggest thing to keep in mind if you do have them or breed them, plz be up front to anyone you give or sell these to so they know what they are getting.

 

[HokusPokusPhidippus]

It’s because they cross breed in the wild as well if they come into contact which isn’t often as Otiosus usually live in trees. Regius will also cross breed with Audax apparently. These are the only ones that hybrid though, I’m not the biggest fan of it but as it can happen in the wild that’s why people see it as fine.

Also bear in mind that P. Regius are different colours depending on the local and it’s possible that could be due to hybridisation with Audax and Otiosus in certain areas.

Are there any reports of Hyllus diardi-giganteus hybrids?
I've been searching for giganteus like crazy and found a breeder but strongly suspect that he's either offering diardi or hybrids. I've seen the offered/sold animals in videos and most look very much like diardi but one female looked like an intermediate phenotype of the two species. Considering how rare it is to find giganteus, selling hybrids wrongly labelled across borders could be detrimental for the breeding gene pool and that worries me. But I don't want to blame anyone unjustly so I don't want to add any links or say the name of the breeder.