Hermaphrodite Tarantula?

[AbraxasComplex]

So I am utterly confused. I have already asked several other tarantula breeders about this and they have no knowledge of this situation.


A couple years ago my friend received a rose hair tarantula. She developed an egg sac with a 1'' diameter. My friend disposed of it but opened it to see the eggs. Several months later it molted and a cricket nibbled on one of its legs damaging it.

Now I was over this weekend and noticed this female was quite active. When I checked on her I noticed her pedipalps were extended like a males and was quite surprised to see the front two legs had the hooks mature males develop.

This tarantula laid an egg sac, yet now was acting like a mature male and showed the signs of one. The only theory I had was that someone killed his original tarantula and replaced it, but he has had no one but himself take care of it and it still had the damaged leg form its molt. I am quite confused. Can anyone enlighten me?

 

[Ariel]

wow thats very strange. I've never heard of such a thing. its very interesting though.

 

[Satellite Rob]

T's don't change sex.Something happened and nobodys talking.

 

[Roski]

Are you sure it was hooked out and not some bad hair day for the confirmed lady? Rosies can act quite weirdly by their own accord. I wouldn't be alarmed until it makes a sperm web

 

[Randomhero148]

maybe you wouldnt need two opposite sex tarantulas of the same species to get slings. That would be pretty interesting if that can happen.

 

[Miss Bianca]

I'd say it's impossible,
it's either a boy or a girl...

(I second the idea that perhaps someone played switcheroo.)

 

[cityzooguy]

either it did not "lay eggs" or it was killed and replaced by the murderer, without the owners knowledge.

 

[Roski]

The body snatchers finally fumbled in their harvest. The invasion has begun!

 

[The Spider Faery]

If hermaphroditism can happen with humans, I wonder if it can happen with animals also. I also wonder why everyone's mentioning the tarantula being switched with another one, when the original poster never mentioned anything that could imply that. It's a weird subject that I and I'm sure most other people don't give much thought to, in any case. Interesting.

 

[AbraxasComplex]

I've heard of hemaphrodites happening in hissers and pokies... but their body is cut down the middle, one half having male characteristics, the other half female. Amanada (RedQueen) from Tarantula Canada was going to send me the link.

 

[Ariel]

If hermaphroditism can happen with humans, I wonder if it can happen with animals also. I also wonder why everyone's mentioning the tarantula being switched with another one, when the original poster never mentioned anything that could imply that. It's a weird subject that I and I'm sure most other people don't give much thought to, in any case. Interesting.

hermaphroditism occurs in all mammals, I work at a clinic, and there have so far been two dogs and a cat that were this way, and I think some type of rodent as well. I do not have any evidence that this can occur in anything else, mainly because we don't see much of anything else. but I think if such mutations occur in mammals that there is still a chance it could occur in anything. I wouldn't say it's impossible, thats for sure!

 

[gumby]

here is an older thread you may find interesting http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=60259

Im not saying that one T could produce eggs with itself but it can be split you should look for the shading signs described in the thread

 

[Ariel]

here is an older thread you may find interesting http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=60259

Im not saying that one T could produce eggs with itself but it can be split you should look for the shading signs described in the thread

thats quite interesting indeed. and in a species like a G. rosea that doesn't have the obvious color differences, it'd be a bit more confusing. So I'd assume only one leg would have a tibial hook! So I guess my question would be does it live the shorter life of the male, or does it live much longer, like a female?

 

[Bill S]

...So I'd assume only one leg would have a tibial hook! So I guess my question would be does it live the shorter life of the male, or does it live much longer, like a female?

There have been documented cases in which mature males underwent another molt after having reached maturity, but ran into molting problems due to the shape of the male pedipalp. In the case of a hermaphroditic tarantula, a molting disaster on one side could pretty much kill the whole tarantula, making the issue of female longevity irrelevent. (But if the male pedipalp were surgically removed prior to molting, would it eventually grow a new one?)

As for the OP's tarantula - what does "acting like a male" mean? Does it try to court females? And another obvious question - is the owner of the tarantula sure he's seeing tibial hooks? Or just other structures that he is mistaking for tibial hooks? And - are they on both pedipalps or just one. As for the possibility of someone switching tarantulas - that remains a possibility even if nobody else took care of the original tarantula. A visitor could have accidentally done something that killed the original tarantula and replaced it with another of similar size. Such things have certainly happened before to other people with other animals.

 

[TalonAWD]

I know I did the switch before to myself. I had a L. parabyhana sling and it escaped. Before my wife found out I ran and bought another one of similar size locally. We eventually moved out that house and I never found the sling. (It would have certainly died).

 

[xhexdx]

here is an older thread you may find interesting http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=60259

Im not saying that one T could produce eggs with itself but it can be split you should look for the shading signs described in the thread

That was the exact thread I was thinking of and was going to post, but you beat me to it! :}

 

[AbraxasComplex]

As for the OP's tarantula - what does "acting like a male" mean? Does it try to court females? And another obvious question - is the owner of the tarantula sure he's seeing tibial hooks? Or just other structures that he is mistaking for tibial hooks? And - are they on both pedipalps or just one. As for the possibility of someone switching tarantulas - that remains a possibility even if nobody else took care of the original tarantula. A visitor could have accidentally done something that killed the original tarantula and replaced it with another of similar size. Such things have certainly happened before to other people with other animals.

According to my friend it has been overly active and avoiding its hide. When I saw it he was constantly trying to climb the sides. As for the tibial hooks they were on both legs. And I have bred many tarantulas before and I can for sure tell you it had the extended pedipalps and tibial hooks.

He assured me no one replaced it, but I still was unsure on that part.

Either way it is not impossible for it to have both male and female characteristics and organs.

 

[Twistedrayne]

That is pretty interesting. I'd like to see a picture of it.

 

[xhexdx]

Either way it is not impossible for it to have both male and female characteristics and organs.

Why?

I'd like to see pics of it either way.

 

[AbraxasComplex]

I'll ask my friend to take photos. But right now it only has male characteristics, though before it laid an eggsac.

I say that nothing is impossible for mutations/evolution. Every now and then an individual has mutations that break the known rules. In the wild they are either consumed or don't pass on their DNA if that mutation does not help them survive further. Most of the time that mutant is sterile.

Some species of frogs may switch sexes, some lizard species are parthenogenic. So are many species of scorpion. Considering sexual reproduction in nature has found several diverging paths, why couldn't a tarantula have a mutation that gives it both sexes, sterile or not?