Found my species Metriopelma zebratum

[Kat Maehl]

Okay, so. I have now positively ID'd two of my spiders. My collection has grown since last I posted. I have two A. Seemanni both appear to be female, one had legs in her den so I can only assume she mated and made short work of her mate.

I now found I have two. M. Zebratum. What I wonder is why no one seems to have them for sale? Are they not popular? Are they just hard to come by?
If they are hard to come by, I may want to try breeding.

I've fallen in love with tarantulas, and spiders in general.
So much so I held a potentially deadly spider. /facepalm\

I guess the question I want to ask is this. Are they sought after?
Not my photo, but my two babies look just like this.

 

[ledzeppelin]

most of Cyclosternum and Metriopelma are now under the Davus genus. This is why you don't find much about them. Metriopelma zebratum is now Davus ruficeps. I'd say that among Davus genus the most common ones are Davus fasciatus and Davus pentaloris.

Also i'm not really sure if yours is ex M. zebratum (now D. ruficeps). Zebratum has golden carapace. I'd say you have fasciatum or pentaloris.

 

[ledzeppelin]

Although I have to say I'm not a specialist for Davus.. I just know how the three look.

 

[Kat Maehl]

Although I have to say I'm not a specialist for Davus.. I just know how the three look.

This hobby is so convoluted... I think I finally find something and boom! It's different!

 

[cold blood]

Davus pentaloris is what I would suspect...and considering its by far the most common in the genus, I wouldn't assume it to be another super rare species.

 

[ledzeppelin]

This hobby is so convoluted... I think I finally find something and boom! It's different!

Don't get me wrong, it may well be what you think it is. I've done some research and now i'm not even sure what's right and what is not.. >< im sure some will contribute to this

 

[ledzeppelin]

Davus pentaloris is what I would suspect...and considering its by far the most common in the genus, I wouldn't assume it to be another super rare species.

But zebratum is now ruficeps right? my mind is collapsing right now

 

[Kat Maehl]

Davus pentaloris is what I would suspect...and considering its by far the most common in the genus, I wouldn't assume it to be another super rare species.

I know it goes by the name Costa Rican Suntiger. It's not from Venezuela. I'm in Costa Rica, and as far as I can tell they don't extend this far down.\

 

[Kat Maehl]

But zebratum is now ruficeps right? my mind is collapsing right now

Right? I'm so confused.... T...T

 

[cold blood]

But zebratum is now ruficeps right? my mind is collapsing right now

Lol...I don't even know...I would assume its the one that we used to know as C. fasciatum...so yeah, maybe its now D. fasciatum...lol. I hate wholesale changes...so confusing.

 

[Kat Maehl]

Lol...I don't even know...I would assume its the one that we used to know as C. fasciatum...so yeah, maybe its now D. fasciatum...lol. I hate wholesale changes...so confusing.

My two are very small, they are a dwarf speices. Mango, my newest is almost fully grown. So she's about two, maybe three inches dls.

 

[ledzeppelin]

my mind hurts from counting stripes and comparing abdomen hearts

 

[ledzeppelin]

they are all the same. period!

 

[cold blood]

My two are very small, they are a dwarf speices. Mango, my newest is almost fully grown. So she's about two, maybe three inches dls.

They get to about 4" if I am not mistaken.

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

There really isn't enough information in a picture of the top of this spider to make a definitive ID on it. Using pictures found on the internet will make the process more confusing since spiders are mislabeled and the IDs are hardly ever correct in hobby collections.

Using Gabriel (2016), which includes a key to the species of Davus, none of the dorsal patterns exactly match the pictures. Additional characters will need to be used. A picture of the underside of the spider in question will be a good start as all three species being guessed so far (Davus pentaloris, D. fasciatum, D. ruficeps) all have different patterns on the underside of the abdomen.

We can rule out D. fasciatus right off since that species has a dark carapace. That leaves Davus pentaloris or Davus ruficeps as the two likely candidates if it really is a Davus species. Gabriel (2016) also mentions some variation in the pattern of these species.

References
Gabriel, R. (2016). Revised taxonomic placement of the species in the Central American genera Davus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1892, Metriopelma Becker, 1878, and Schizopelma F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897, with comments on species in related genera (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Arachnology17(2): 61-92.

 

[Kat Maehl]

They get to about 4" if I am not mistaken.

I had a C. Fasciatum in my house that was easily 5-6 inch DLS

 

[Kat Maehl]

There really isn't enough information in a picture of the top of this spider to make a definitive ID on it. Using pictures found on the internet will make the process more confusing since spiders are mislabeled and the IDs are hardly ever correct in hobby collections.

Using Gabriel (2016), which includes a key to the species of Davus, none of the dorsal patterns exactly match the pictures. Additional characters will need to be used. A picture of the underside of the spider in question will be a good start as all three species being guessed so far (Davus pentaloris, D. fasciatum, D. ruficeps) all have different patterns on the underside of the abdomen.

We can rule out D. fasciatus right off since that species has a dark carapace. That leaves Davus pentaloris or Davus ruficeps as the two likely candidates if it really is a Davus species. Gabriel (2016) also mentions some variation in the pattern of these species.

References
Gabriel, R. (2016). Revised taxonomic placement of the species in the Central American genera Davus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1892, Metriopelma Becker, 1878, and Schizopelma F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897, with comments on species in related genera (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Arachnology17(2): 61-92.

Here are actual pictures of my babies.
The first is of Mango my newest, and second is Danni

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Here are actual pictures of my babies.
The first is of Mango my newest, and second is Danni

It's hard to determine if your two tarantulas are actually mature. The description of Davus pentaloris, D. fasciatum, and D. ruficeps state the body length of all three species around 30 mm (about an inch). That measurement includes chelicerae, carapace, and abdomen length. You can be the judge if your two spiders are adult or not based on that. Again though, trying to get a good clear picture of these spiders from the bottom will help narrow it down. Don't expect an exact ID though. The best way to ID these to species without doubt is by examination of the spermatheca. For that you will need molts from the two spiders.