Grayscale colored species with patterns

[Kada]

Apologies if my wording is off. I am very much attracted to species that arent colorful but express amazing patterns. Black, white and grey. Basically like pokies or Heteroscodra maculata which are my favorites from the family thus far. Regardless of how shy they are.

I have been out of the tarantula hobby for about a decade, maybe more. Getting back in and have noticed a hefty number of new species available now, so I am excited to see all the new colors. I mostly kept/keep pokies and baboons, and especially love arboreal species. I know it seems probably counter productive to their camo ability, but do such "colors" and patterns exist in a terrestrial species?

I am on the look out for a nice terrestrial species. Of the species I am aware of, A. geniculata, E. murinu, A. seemanni etc are the closest, but they are lacking the body patterns that I really enjoy. As I type this I realize what an entitled little Poecilotheria lover I must sound like But thought I should ask. The detailed monochrome and grayscale in animals is just mind blowing to me!

What are your favorite species of white/black/gray (no browns) tarantulas?

 

[cold blood]

murinus adult female

• cold blood
• Nov 25, 2020

zimbabwe/botswana

C. darlingi #2

• cold blood
• Aug 12, 2018
• 2
• ceratogyrus ceratogyrus bechuanicus ceratogyrus darlingi curvedhorn tarantula darlingi

mira pairing 1

• cold blood
• Jan 27, 2018
• 4
• idiothele idiothele mira mating mira

Nhandu

• cold blood
• May 18, 2017
• 1

freshly molted N. coloratovillsus

Ceratogyrus marshalli

• cold blood
• Jan 13, 2017
• 2
• ceratogyrus ceratogyrus cornuatus ceratogyrus marshalli female great horned baboon tarantula marshalli mature female straight horned baboon tarantula straighthorned tarantula

marshalli

 

[Kada]

Very nice! I have only kept OBT murinus, those you have are growing on me. Fantastic pics. A local breeder here has some DCF slings currently. I do love their patterns, and I have moved away from the bright orange colors. I presume their attitude is no different?


Having never kept any ceratogyrus before, this one also intrigues me a lot. It is one of the things that struck me.getting back into it, the discovery of C. attonitifer. True insanity!

Generally speaking, do you find your horned baboons to basically be hidden 24/7 or do they come out some nights? I wouldnt mind a couple spiders that can.be seen once a week or more haha. These are high on the list Thanks for sharing the pics!

Edit. Has anyone kept Harpactira namaquensis? How are their colors as adults?

 

[NMTs]

I haven't had H. namaquensis, but I do have both H. dictator and H. baviana (and H. pulchripes, H. chrysogaster, and H. cafreriana - but they don't quite fit the description you're after). They are both predominantly gold/tan/beige with black patterns and are both pretty easy to manage care-wise.

I don't have a good recent pic of my dictator, but here's a good one from the gallery:

0.1 H. dictator

arachnoboards.com

Here's my H. baviana (he's bigger now, and darker):

0.0.1 Harpactira baviana - Hades

My suspect male H. baviana (3.75" DLS) at mealtime. He's kind of crazy - every time I open the enclosure to feed or water, he runs right to the top edge (his web goes all the way up). When I drop a cricket in below him, he turns and pounces...

arachnoboards.com

Ceratogyrus darlingi are great spiders, and mine spends most of it's time out in plain sight, although her enclosure is webbed up beyond belief so she probably feels like nobody can see her (sorry, no pic). Aside from the various dark color forms of Pterinochilus murinus, there are also P. chordatus and P. lugardi, which are probably close to what you're looking for. Here's a P. chordatus from the genus gallery:

Pterinochilus chordatus.

arachnoboards.com

 

[cold blood]

I have only kept OBT murinus, those you have are growing on me. Fantastic pics. A local breeder here has some DCF slings currently. I do love their patterns, and I have moved away from the bright orange colors. I presume their attitude is no different?

Mine was never very defensive...but I only had one single example.

do you find your horned baboons to basically be hidden 24/7 or do they come out some nights?

I have lots of these and have even bred them several times.....for me its rare that any of them hide all that much....really most of the time they sit at the burrow mouth.

 

[Kada]

I haven't had H. namaquensis, but I do have both H. dictator and H. baviana (and H. pulchripes, H. chrysogaster, and H. cafreriana - but they don't quite fit the description you're after). They are both predominantly gold/tan/beige with black patterns and are both pretty easy to manage care-wise.

I don't have a good recent pic of my dictator, but here's a good one from the gallery:

0.1 H. dictator

arachnoboards.com

Here's my H. baviana (he's bigger now, and darker):

0.0.1 Harpactira baviana - Hades

My suspect male H. baviana (3.75" DLS) at mealtime. He's kind of crazy - every time I open the enclosure to feed or water, he runs right to the top edge (his web goes all the way up). When I drop a cricket in below him, he turns and pounces...

arachnoboards.com

Ceratogyrus darlingi are great spiders, and mine spends most of it's time out in plain sight, although her enclosure is webbed up beyond belief so she probably feels like nobody can see her (sorry, no pic). Aside from the various dark color forms of Pterinochilus murinus, there are also P. chordatus and P. lugardi, which are probably close to what you're looking for. Here's a P. chordatus from the genus gallery:

Pterinochilus chordatus.

arachnoboards.com

That's fantastic, thanks. Nice collection of Harpactira! I must say,the photos of H dictator looks amazing, will be on the look out for slings for sure. The name ain't half bad either

P. murinus is probably what I will go for as I cant find other species in the genus easily. And some DCF slings are available from a good breeder currently haha. How do the species you mentioned compare I. general attitude and shyness? Havent kept anything from the genus other than murinus.

Mine was never very defensive...but I only had one single example.
I have lots of these and have even bred them several times.....for me its rare that any of them hide all that much....really most of the time they sit at the burrow mouth.

Perfect, that settles that one Horned baboons really are unique. Being out is icing on the cake! About how long have you noticed until the horns form?

Thanks for the suggestions and sharing your experiences. gorgeous Ts!

Are there any new world species that fit the description out there?

 

[cold blood]

About how long have you noticed until the horns form?

About 1.5-2"

Are there any new world species that fit the description out there?

That nhandu coloratovillsus I posted is new world....T. albo maybe

 

[NMTs]

That's fantastic, thanks. Nice collection of Harpactira! I must say,the photos of H dictator looks amazing, will be on the look out for slings for sure. The name ain't half bad either

P. murinus is probably what I will go for as I cant find other species in the genus easily. And some DCF slings are available from a good breeder currently haha. How do the species you mentioned compare I. general attitude and shyness?

In my experience, P. chordatus and P. lugardi aren't as high strung as murinus, and Harpactira in general are more laid back than Pterinochilus. They are all baboons, though, and can be flighty and pack a punch if they want to, but I don't think any of them are as temperamental as people make them out to be.

Are there any new world species that fit the description out there?

There are NW species in black/grey color schemes, but none that have the kind of patterns on them that these OW species have that I know of. Solid black and grey NW's like Aphonopelma eutylenum, A. johnnycashi, and A. gabeli come to mind.

 

[Dry Desert]

In my experience, P. chordatus and P. lugardi aren't as high strung as murinus, and Harpactira in general are more laid back than Pterinochilus. They are all baboons, though, and can be flighty and pack a punch if they want to, but I don't think any of them are as temperamental as people make them out to be.


There are NW species in black/grey color schemes, but none that have the kind of patterns on them that these OW species have that I know of. Solid black and grey NW's like Aphonopelma eutylenum, A. johnnycashi, and A. gabeli come to mind.

That's fantastic, thanks. Nice collection of Harpactira! I must say,the photos of H dictator looks amazing, will be on the look out for slings for sure. The name ain't half bad either

P. murinus is probably what I will go for as I cant find other species in the genus easily. And some DCF slings are available from a good breeder currently haha. How do the species you mentioned compare I. general attitude and shyness? Havent kept anything from the genus other than murinus.





Perfect, that settles that one Horned baboons really are unique. Being out is icing on the cake! About how long have you noticed until the horns form?

Thanks for the suggestions and sharing your experiences. gorgeous Ts!

Are there any new world species that fit the description out there?

Your previous choice of pockies and H. maculata were excellent choices.

I've always been fascinated by the black, white and grey.

If it were me I would return to your previous choices.

 

[NMTs]

Your previous choice of pockies and H. maculata were excellent choices.

I've always been fascinated by the black, white and grey.

If it were me I would return to your previous choices.

OP is looking for terrestrial species with similar markings & coloration as Pokies & H. mac. Otherwise, I'd agree - not much is going to compare to those as white/grey/black T's.

 

[Kada]

In my experience, P. chordatus and P. lugardi aren't as high strung as murinus, and Harpactira in general are more laid back than Pterinochilus. They are all baboons, though, and can be flighty and pack a punch if they want to, but I don't think any of them are as temperamental as people make them out to be.


There are NW species in black/grey color schemes, but none that have the kind of patterns on them that these OW species have that I know of. Solid black and grey NW's like Aphonopelma eutylenum, A. johnnycashi, and A. gabeli come to mind.

Cheers. Noted chordatus and lunardi, thanks

The aphono and nhando are respectable spiders no doubt. but as picky as I am, I enjoy the fine intricate markings rather than the more solid bands or sections of solid colors haha. picky that way. but let's keep the names coming, others certainly love them!

Your previous choice of pockies and H. maculata were excellent choices.

I've always been fascinated by the black, white and grey.

If it were me I would return to your previous choices.

I already have them hehe. no going back, already here! they are must haves for me, my favourite Ts of all. But I want to have a few more terrestrials and expand the living rooms look from tall Lego blocks to proper Lego blocks


thanks for all the suggestions guys. how about you guys, your favorites?

 

[Mike Withrow]

I purchased four H.mac about a month ago three slings and a juvenile. I cannot wait until my juvenile gets a couple more molts in so I can rehouse it and get pictures.

All I have except two nw a Avic Avic and a t.vagen is asian species of chilobrachys,cyriopagopus,and ornithoctonus.

Yup just broke spell check.

 

[l4nsky]

Intricate, grayscale fractal patterning like Poecilotheria spp or Heteroscoda maculata to a degree are rarely found in terrestrial/fossorial species. There are some that come close and a lot of them are listed here. Of the ones I don't see listed, you might want to consider these:

• Cyriopagopus albostriatus is kind of the OW equivalent to Ephebopus murinus.
• Haplocosmia himalayana is a very striking spider with large alternating bands of black and gray, but lacks any intricate patterning.
• Pterinochilus sp Arusha, if you can find them.

 

[Arachnophobphile]

Apologies if my wording is off. I am very much attracted to species that arent colorful but express amazing patterns. Black, white and grey. Basically like pokies or Heteroscodra maculata which are my favorites from the family thus far. Regardless of how shy they are.

I have been out of the tarantula hobby for about a decade, maybe more. Getting back in and have noticed a hefty number of new species available now, so I am excited to see all the new colors. I mostly kept/keep pokies and baboons, and especially love arboreal species. I know it seems probably counter productive to their camo ability, but do such "colors" and patterns exist in a terrestrial species?

I am on the look out for a nice terrestrial species. Of the species I am aware of, A. geniculata, E. murinu, A. seemanni etc are the closest, but they are lacking the body patterns that I really enjoy. As I type this I realize what an entitled little Poecilotheria lover I must sound like But thought I should ask. The detailed monochrome and grayscale in animals is just mind blowing to me!

What are your favorite species of white/black/gray (no browns) tarantulas?

I know you mentioned terrestrials but I would recommend arboreals.

P. regalis is one of my favorite pokies with the pattern and color.

Check the OP's original post of the photos from the link: https://arachnoboards.com/threads/a...-does-this-t-look-gravid.346919/#post-3196278

 

[Mike Withrow]

I second that and love regalis. For a pokie. Besides all the others lol regalis is my favorite

 

[klawfran3]

Surprised I didn't see Idiothele mira on this list, or at least I didn't see it if it was! A slate grew body with a stunning starburst and fish bone on the back, going down to blue feet. And it's a trapdoor. What's not to love?

 

[Kada]

I know you mentioned terrestrials but I would recommend arboreals.

P. regalis is one of my favorite pokies with the pattern and color.

Check the OP's original post of the photos from the link: https://arachnoboards.com/threads/a...-does-this-t-look-gravid.346919/#post-3196278

Indeed, they are amazing. I am good on pokies though, looking to expand into new species personally

Surprised I didn't see Idiothele mira on this list, or at least I didn't see it if it was! A slate grew body with a stunning starburst and fish bone on the back, going down to blue feet. And it's a trapdoor. What's not to love?

For sure, very cool spiders! But they are colored, not gray scale

 

[Kada]

Just recieved order of a few spiderlings. Following @NMTs and @cold blood thoughts, in the order i got a couple C. darlingii and an H. namaquensis (also H. pulchripes but not related to this threads theme).

Also some more H. maculata and A. junodi.

will take proper pics with a camera and make a species specific thread for pics as they grow. Just finished rehousing, as always, over the moon

Terrible cellphone pic in the meantime haha.

A. junodi

 

[Kada]

Some pics of some of the things we bought.
C. darlingi.Only have 2. 1 we have seen I guess 3 times briefly, the other only once or twice haha. So far, the most reclusive spiders we have. I really like their tunnel systems though, they are also the most prolific diggers we have

A. junodi

H. namaquensis more colorful than I thought they would be. But this pic is just after a shed.

The H macs don't come out much either obviously. Hoping for some pics once they are a bit bigger.

 

[Peloquin]

minax and albostriatum are fantastic looking.