Genic molted -- definately female...right? PIC

[Mojo Jojo]

This extra piece of skin hanging over the epigastric furrow means that Stryker is a girl right?

Jon

 

[Code Monkey]

Mo' debinately.

That is a very feminine female

 

[Mojo Jojo]

=D*gets up and does the Happy Dance* =D

=D*shouts Yes! Yes! Yes!*=D

Jon

 

[Valael]

Just out of curiousity, how can you tell?



I'm trying to absorb as much info on the whole sexing thing as possible.

 

[Code Monkey]

Originally posted by Valael
Just out of curiousity, how can you tell?

See the flap between the anterior book lungs with the two knobby giraffe antler like things on it? That's the spermathecae, only present on a female.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

So in males, all you would see is the the slit of the epigastric furrow, with nothing else near it?

Jon

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Ok. So now it is confirmed that I have a female A. geniculata. She was at just over 5 inches pre molt, so now she will obviously be larger once she streches out? When should I start making plans to acquire a male to mate with her?

Jon

 

[Code Monkey]

It's not even truly a slit in males, just a shallow indentation between the book lungs.

Although it gets more and more distinct as the specimen grows, if you have any sort of definite flap on the anterior of the epigastric furrow, you've got a girl.

 

[MrT]

Originally posted by Code Monkey
See the flap between the anterior book lungs with the two knobby giraffe antler like things on it? That's the spermathecae, only present on a female.

I have some females with the flap, but no giraffe antlers.
Do you think the antlers mean she's mature? All my adult females have them. If this is so, then we would know when a T is of breeding age. Right?

Ernie

 

[Code Monkey]

Are you referring to female genics, or something else? The exact morphology of the spermathecae varies widely between species. The only consistent feature is you have a transverse flap between the anterior book lungs, all else you need to compare to the same species.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Originally posted by Code Monkey
Are you referring to female genics, or something else? The exact morphology of the spermathecae varies widely between species. The only consistent feature is you have a transverse flap between the anterior book lungs, all else you need to compare to the same species.

Yeah, but what about mine? Can you tell from this pic, whether or not it is sexually mature?

Jon

 

[MrT]

I see,
I was thinking in general.

Thanks

 

[Botar]

It is my understanding that sexual maturity is somewhat of an educated guess due to size and age. She's got the plumbing, if she's got the size, go for it. I'd help you out, but my biggest one is a female also and my others are too small to tell yet.

Botar

 

[Code Monkey]

Originally posted by Big Dragonfly
Can you tell from this pic, whether or not it is sexually mature?

I am not much of an authority on the actual breeding part, but as developed as they are, she should be breedable at that size, BUT...

You say she's only 5", there is definitely a correlation between female size and clutch size and percent viability. I've even seen some discussion from experienced breeders that breeding females early may stunt their final size. From field observations, Rick West has also observed that Ts are probably breedable even long before they show distinct signs of being mature.

So, she probably is breedable, and if you already happen to have a male, you can always try. OTOH, if she were my T, I'd probably wait another moult or two before actually seeking out mature males.

Hopefully someone who's actually bred Acanthoscurria sp. will chime in.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Well, we'll see. She "WAS" 5 inches pre molt. She hasn't streched out yet from her last molt. I'm sure she will be larger.

Jon

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Also, from what I understand, the clutch size can range from 800-1200 or even more. I would like to breed this species, however, I don't really want to deal with that many s'lings. So a smaller cluctch would be quite welcomed, as longs as the offspring weren't affected.

Of coure, I really would like to have an 8 inch spider. So I'm not sure what I should do.

Jon

 

[krystal]

hey jon--
get this girl gravid, then keep four or five of the slings. i'll take ten or so, too. then sell the rest to someone (a tarantula dealer).

actually, i think you can sell the egg sacks, too, because you can ship them after a certain stage--i talked a little with bryan (cronoss) about it--he can give you more info.

 

[rknralf]

Congratulations on getting a female. I've had 5 A. geniculatas over the past year and a half. The first one died during a molt, the second and third one turned out to be males (They matured in just about a year and were shipping to John Hoke for breeding. I've heard that at least one of the them got munched) the forth just molted and appears to be a male, and the last is unsexed, so I'm hoping for a female finally!

I looked into trying to breed A. geniculata and found that the females need to be at least 6" before they're ready. I read that the clutch size was around 400, but I can't say with 100% certainty that this is the correct number. I understand it is a bit difficult due to their appetites as they would rather eat than mate. As for time, I would wait about 2 months before trying to breed her and make sure she was very well fed.

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Well, she finally got done streching out/resting after the molt. I'd say that she is right at about the 6 inch mark. Her leg joints seem a little more bulky. Absolutely beautiful.

Here's a pic. I'm gonna be itching for this...

Jon

 

[Mojo Jojo]

Well, I guess I will go ahead and take Acanthoscurria juruenicola off of my list of spiders to get. My geniculata is getting that large jointed look to here which is what I admired about the juruenicola for so long. But the coloration on the geniculata is nicer. And since I'm trying to keep a handle on my collection...

Jon