Help with Whip Spider identification

[MAD5]

Oi, first post here.
I just adopted a little tailless whip scorpion. Bit of an impulse decision, but i regret nothing.
Thing is, now i'd like to know exactly what she is (from what i could gather, i'm pretty sure she's female). I've looked around but i'm really no expert, and all i could figure out is that she's unlikely to be from the Damon genus. But i could be wrong even about that.

Can anyone here help me pinpoint her exact specie, and if possible, what gives it away?

 

[DreadMan]

Depends on the size. If shes small to medium size, I would assume shes from the phryrus genus. The coloring leads me the believe she is Phrynus whitei. I zoomed in and saw two red dots at the sides of her eyes, which confirms this theory. Then again, Amblypygi have similar builds to each other, so they can be quite hard to categorize. I recommend keeping her in a semi tropical environment, but Amblypygi are very hardy, so a dry environment shouldn't kill it. If you could send another pic with a some more light that would be great

 

[MAD5]

Depends on the size. If shes small to medium size, I would assume shes from the phryrus genus. The coloring leads me the believe she is Phrynus whitei. I zoomed in and saw two red dots at the sides of her eyes, which confirms this theory. Then again, Amblypygi have similar builds to each other, so they can be quite hard to categorize. I recommend keeping her in a semi tropical environment, but Amblypygi are very hardy, so a dry environment shouldn't kill it. If you could send another pic with a some more light that would be great

She is rather small compared to other Amblypigi i've seen in videos and whatnot, though i have no idea how old she really is (The guy at the store said she was young but in a way that made me feel like he had no idea either ).

I've been keeping her environment pretty moist, with genrous sprinklings of water twice a day. She seems to have adopted a cozy hiding spot in between 2 small logs, and has been pretty active almost every day once the sun goes down.

Looking up Phrynus, it definitely seems to be in the right ball-park so thanks a lot for that hint. Though now i'm starting to doubt the female theory, as the only metric i've been made aware of to determine sex is the length of the pedipalps compared to the first set of legs, but Phrynus seem to have naturaly shorter ones? Any thoughts there?

 

[DreadMan]

Yea I used

She is rather small compared to other Amblypigi i've seen in videos and whatnot, though i have no idea how old she really is (The guy at the store said she was young but in a way that made me feel like he had no idea either ).

I've been keeping her environment pretty moist, with genrous sprinklings of water twice a day. She seems to have adopted a cozy hiding spot in between 2 small logs, and has been pretty active almost every day once the sun goes down.

Looking up Phrynus, it definitely seems to be in the right ball-park so thanks a lot for that hint. Though now i'm starting to doubt the female theory, as the only metric i've been made aware of to determine sex is the length of the pedipalps compared to the first set of legs, but Phrynus seem to have naturaly shorter ones? Any thoughts there?

View attachment 381006

Yea I used to keep Phrynus marginemaculata, and they seem to not grow at all after their first few molts. This is most definitely a Phrynus, meaning that I myself cant sex it. Usually its the pedipalps size that shows off, but for Phrynus thats not a true at all. If you are looking to breed them, I cant help you there. My closest assumptions are that the species is either longipes or whitei, and longipes is cannibalistic, so definitely dont keep them together. Other than that, I think you are all set. It is big enough to to feed it things like wax worms or cockroaches, so try to change up its diet once in a while. I recommend having a little pool of water at the bottom like a pool, because mine used to clean themselves with it. I hope this helps

 

[MAD5]

Yea I used

Yea I used to keep Phrynus marginemaculata, and they seem to not grow at all after their first few molts. This is most definitely a Phrynus, meaning that I myself cant sex it. Usually its the pedipalps size that shows off, but for Phrynus thats not a true at all. If you are looking to breed them, I cant help you there. My closest assumptions are that the species is either longipes or whitei, and longipes is cannibalistic, so definitely dont keep them together. Other than that, I think you are all set. It is big enough to to feed it things like wax worms or cockroaches, so try to change up its diet once in a while. I recommend having a little pool of water at the bottom like a pool, because mine used to clean themselves with it. I hope this helps

Absolutely it does, thanks a lot! Good to know about the cannibalistic thing just in case HAHA. I'll keep up the research but that definitely helps orient it.

 

[Collin Clary]

It's definitely a Phrynus species but I'm not familiar enough with the genus to identify it beyond that.

 

[Sarkhan42]

This is a Phrynus cf whitei from Nicaragua, at adult size or close to adult size. I'd wager this is a female but if you post a ventral shot I can give you a more confident sexing. Keep quite humid, with some wide vertical space to climb- I use Styrofoam boards, but some people like cork bark or cork board.

 

[MAD5]

This is a Phrynus cf whitei from Nicaragua, at adult size or close to adult size. I'd wager this is a female but if you post a ventral shot I can give you a more confident sexing. Keep quite humid, with some wide vertical space to climb- I use Styrofoam boards, but some people like cork bark or cork board.

I like the confidence of that answer.
Was a weird photoshoot, but i managed to get a clear shot of the belly between my fingers. Didn't really know what to look for though, so i don't know if it'll be enough?
Which brings me to a question, if you don't mind: What are the telling sings for sexing?

 

[Sarkhan42]

Definitely looks female to me. I actually just answered the same question here!: https://arachnoboards.com/threads/amblypygid-id.344377/#post-3169531

I do have some follow up now though- the photo is grainy and its rather late here, but I swear I can see some circular shapes in the opaque membranes between tergites. I'd go ahead and take a closer look in person to confirm. Given she's wild caught, there's a decent chance she may pop eggs for you. I actually just had a wild caught female on eggs have her babies myself.

 

[DreadMan]

This is a Phrynus cf whitei from Nicaragua, at adult size or close to adult size. I'd wager this is a female but if you post a ventral shot I can give you a more confident sexing. Keep quite humid, with some wide vertical space to climb- I use Styrofoam boards, but some people like cork bark or cork board.

Would whitei become cannibalistic?

 

[Sarkhan42]

Would whitei become cannibalistic?

Currently from what we know- yes, I wouldn’t suggest keeping more than a sexed pair together for breeding.

I’m however hoping to maybe experiment a bit myself to see how true that is, as I’ve seen some signs that might suggest otherwise.

 

[MAD5]

Definitely looks female to me. I actually just answered the same question here!: https://arachnoboards.com/threads/amblypygid-id.344377/#post-3169531

I do have some follow up now though- the photo is grainy and its rather late here, but I swear I can see some circular shapes in the opaque membranes between tergites. I'd go ahead and take a closer look in person to confirm. Given she's wild caught, there's a decent chance she may pop eggs for you. I actually just had a wild caught female on eggs have her babies myself.

All the thanks, mate. I think i see the difference from the picture in the other thread. Few other creatures have been quite as exciting to learn about, for me!
I'll keep an eye out for babies, just in case.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

All amblypygi will cannibalize if they are hungry and/or feel like it. Some are somewhat more territorial than others. Few species in the hobby are even vaguely willing to cohabitate outside of temporary breeding situations.

Phrynus will appreciate a moist environment, and don't need a great deal of airflow. They are generally unlikely to use a water dish, but of course there can be exceptions. Mine will sometimes drink drips off the wall in the winter when the substrate dries out faster. Dessication is the biggest risk to these, as well as live prey running loose while they're moulting. Keep the environment simple with a nice tall cork or styrofoam board to climb and moult off of. Enjoy your lovely beast!

 

[DreadMan]

All amblypygi will cannibalize if they are hungry and/or feel like it. Some are somewhat more territorial than others. Few species in the hobby are even vaguely willing to cohabitate outside of temporary breeding situations.

Phrynus will appreciate a moist environment, and don't need a great deal of airflow. They are generally unlikely to use a water dish, but of course there can be exceptions. Mine will sometimes drink drips off the wall in the winter when the substrate dries out faster. Dessication is the biggest risk to these, as well as live prey running loose while they're moulting. Keep the environment simple with a nice tall cork or styrofoam board to climb and moult off of. Enjoy your lovely beast!

Yea but some are social. Phrynus marginemaculatus wont eat each other unless totally starving.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Yea but some are social. Phrynus marginemaculatus wont eat each other unless totally starving.

That's why I said "few species in the hobby" and not "no species". Even those will cannibalize occasionally, though it's considerably less common.

 

[Mandy91]

Any ideas on this species? Just picked this up from a friend. Excited to house but want to do the right way and with my Tarantulas I usually study their place of origin. This is my first critter I’m at a total loss with. Any help or ideas welcomed. I found this thread thinking it’s similar, but not quite the same.

 

[Albireo Wulfbooper]

Any ideas on this species? Just picked this up from a friend. Excited to house but want to do the right way and with my Tarantulas I usually study their place of origin. This is my first critter I’m at a total loss with. Any help or ideas welcomed. I found this thread thinking it’s similar, but not quite the same.

This is a Phrynus whitei. Plenty of threads here on how to care for them, but the main points for enclosures are: tall vertical or diagonal climbing surface with good grip (cork bark or styrofoam work well) and space underneath for moulting (they moult suspended), an inch or two of substrate kept moist at all times, restricted ventilation. You want a fairly humid environment for them, and mould is not a problem. Most amblypygi live in moist cave and rock crevice environments, some are arboreal in humid tropical regions. Room temperature is great, but they’ll tolerate a relatively wide temperature range - mine have displayed no notable behaviour or feeding changes in the range of 20-30C. The biggest risk to amblypygi in captivity is dry conditions. They’ll eat crickets or roaches, same as your tarantulas, and can readily handle prey as large as their abdomen. For large prey, feeding one every 2-3 weeks is sufficient. If you’re feeding smaller prey, you can either feed every 1-2 weeks or toss them in 2 or 3 at a time.