E. campestratus vs. G. pulchripes ID

[spinningspider]

hey guys,
Got a spider labled as a PZB but they look identical to Chaco gold knees. what are the anatomical differences between the two. I'm at a loss. Thanks

 

[RoseT]

Same thing happened to me 2 weeks ago went back and saw what was labled PBZ, but looked identicle to their chaco. But I think it has to do with the stripes, I think the PBZ has the same pattern but they are more a pinkish color. I would like to hear more from a more experienced member.

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

Same thing happened to me 2 weeks ago went back and saw what was labled PBZ, but looked identicle to their chaco. But I think it has to do with the stripes, I think the PBZ has the same pattern but they are more a pinkish color. I would like to hear more from a more experienced member.

It's PZB not PBZ

Look up pictures of both.

G. pulchripes are black with yellow striping.
E. campestratus are brownish with pink hairs with pinkish white striping.

They are easy to tell apart once you look at pictures.

 

[spinningspider]

chris, I have looked at multiple pictures of both. i see both species with similar colored markings. if anyone has a certain ID method other than just coloration. please let me know

 

[Mez]

They're very easy to tell apart in real life, and i guess the only confusion could come with bad pics in bad light or whatever.
Apart from the obvious colouration, im pretty sure E. campestratus has thicker/fluffier hair on the back legs, compared to the rest of its body. G. pulchripes would appear more uniform. There will of course be other scienrtific differences, of which i am unaware.

 

[Bob]

Here is a PZP Marshal...no golden knees

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

chris, I have looked at multiple pictures of both. i see both species with similar colored markings. if anyone has a certain ID method other than just coloration. please let me know

Post some of these examples.


Also: I'm pretty sure Eupalaestrus doesn't have mirror patches.

 

[RoseT]

I like how everyone comes in here saying its easy to tell the difference between these two..They arent really, I mean as easy as all you make it seem at least. I would like to request some of the people in here saying its is easy to please post pics where it is clear in display that the two are totally or "easy to tell apart" to compare. I was tricked at my LPS, and so was the OP...Im sure it happens more often then most will admit.

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

I like how everyone comes in here saying its easy to tell the difference between these two..They arent really, I mean as easy as all you make it seem at least. I would like to request some of the people in here saying its is easy to please post pics where it is clear in display that the two are totally or "easy to tell apart" to compare. I was tricked at my LPS, and so was the OP...Im sure it happens more often then most will admit.

Mirror patch anyone?

Grammostola have a mirror patch. Eupalaestrus do not.

Oh... Also the color

It also doesn't help being new. When i was just getting into Ts, I got a Chaco at a LPS and later thought it could be a PZB. You will eventually be able to tell them apart no problem.

 

[RoseT]

That makes sense, but I need pics lol...no but seriously, I cant google a pic that details these facts on either SP. Im a newb yes, so I need to know what to look for...lol

 

[Zoltan]

chris, I have looked at multiple pictures of both. i see both species with similar colored markings. if anyone has a certain ID method other than just coloration. please let me know

Here's what Mr. Pocock wrote when describing the Eupalaestrus genus:

"Differing from the rest of the genera of this section on the form of the fourth leg, which is considerably longer than the first and thicker, the tibia being as thick as the femur, only a little more than twice as long as thick, and, like the protarsus, studded with stiff erect bristles; the protarsus is convexly elevated at the base, as high as wide, and about three times as long as high." (Pocock, 1901: 546)

In this case, protarsus is an old term for metatarsus. Since then other genera have been described with incrassate tibiae IV, but this is still a good way to distinguish Eupalaestrus from Grammostola.

In short:
Eupalaestrus - thickened tibiae on the fourth legs,
Grammostola - unmodified tibiae on the fourth legs.

To illustrate, check out pictures of Eupalaestrus and Grammostola on Rick West's site (the pictures are back!).

Reference:
Pocock, R. I. 1901. Some new and old genera of South American Aviculariidae. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (7) 8: 540-555.

 

[crawltech]

Awsome post, Zoltan:worship:...now thats some good genus tech right there....do your homework everyone!

 

[spinningspider]

thank you Zoltan. I appreciate some actual information.

 

[RoseT]

Thanks Zolan, Interesting...

Well this is the specimen I bought labled as PZB at my LPS..

I mean, It still looks like it can be very easily mistaken for one, considering the pink hairs on it...I looked at the Pulchripes on the pics Zoltan provided and it just seemed much darker, and no pink hairs?...But i do see the line markings on the begining of each leg on the PZB, that are not on the pulchripes..Mine dont have those so I could assume I have a Chaco...

 

[Zoltan]

Well this is the specimen I bought labled as PZB at my LPS

Your specimen appears to be a G. pulchripes and not E. campestratus. In the pictures it's clearly visible that the tibiae on legs IV are not thickened, i.e. it's not Eupalaestrus.

E. campestratus ("PZB") with the thick tibiae IV: http://www.birdspiders.com/gallery/index.php/Tarantulas/birdspiders_0166
G. pulchripes ("Chaco") with unmodified tibiae IV: http://www.birdspiders.com/gallery/index.php/Tarantulas/birdspiders_0342

Also take a look at these two pictures. Notice on the first one (Eupalaestrus) how the tibia IV is as thick as the patella IV ("knee"):

And on the second one (Grammostola pulchripes) the tibia on the 4th leg is more slender than the patella:

 

[spinningspider]

he was talking about the tibial segments on the forth legs. if they are thickened and enlarged, it is Eupalaestrus. it took me a while to determine this but the tarantula i have is indeed E campestratus. pictures are to frustratingly similar to look at and the possibility of people mislabeling their spiders makes me weary of ID just on pictures alone.
yours looks similar to the specimen i have in terms of its anatomical structure.

 

[cobweb2000]

It's possible that I have only seen poorly marked examples of G. pulchripes and may be way off base, but I've also noticed the E. camps seem to have striping the whole way up all of their legs and the stripes on the G.pulchs legs 2 and 3 seem to stop at the patella.

My female E. camp the stripes going up her entire leg

 

[jb62]

The Chaco has golden bars on it's legs and grows bigger.

The pzb has no real colour of bars on its legs ..
It has pink fuzz hair and is smaller in size.

the closest t to a pzb is the Cuban zebra apart from it's orange spinerets and under side..

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

The Chaco has golden bars on it's legs and grows bigger.

The pzb has no real colour of bars on its legs ..
It has pink fuzz hair and is smaller in size.

the closest t to a pzb is the Cuban zebra apart from it's orange spinerets and under side..

Cuban zebra?