Heteropoda sp. “Thai Caves” sling molting

[TheBigEmail]

My phone had unfortunately died right before the grand finale

 

[The Snark]

Pardon my confusion here but do I see an orb web in the pictures? But the molting spider gives the general impression of H Venatoria going by coloration.
I've been reading the term Thai Cave spider quite a lot. Two points. 1. The vast majority of heteropoda in Thailand is Venatoria. (the sewer rats of spiders). 2. H. Maxima is credited as being native to Laos so far. Check with Jaeger at Senckenberg for updates on that. He discovered them.

 

[TheBigEmail]

Pardon my confusion here but do I see an orb web in the pictures? But the molting spider gives the general impression of H Venatoria going by coloration.
I've been reading the term Thai Cave spider quite a lot. Two points. 1. The vast majority of heteropoda in Thailand is Venatoria. (the sewer rats of spiders). 2. H. Maxima is credited as being native to Laos so far. Check with Jaeger at Senckenberg for updates on that. He discovered them.

I actually picked this up with the full intent of finding out what the hell it is! The webbing you’re seeing might be a reflection of my widows enclosure which is above it? There’s no webbing in this pictured spiders enclosure. That said I purchased these from a site that was selling Venatoria as well but I definitely don’t believe it’s a maxima haha.

 

[The Snark]

How large, approximately, is it's leg span? My guess is a near or full adult female Venatoria. Dimorphism starts near the penultimate molt with males showing a lighter color and pattern on the abdomen while females remain a drab brown.

 

[TheBigEmail]

How large, approximately, is it's leg span? My guess is a near or full adult female Venatoria. Dimorphism starts near the penultimate molt with males showing a lighter color and pattern on the abdomen while females remain a drab brown.

She(hoping) could fit on a nickel lol. Currently in a 2.25 x 2.25 x 4.5

 

[The Snark]

Certainly not an adult Venatoria then.

 

[TheBigEmail]

Certainly not an adult Venatoria then.

Not at all. I believe this is it’s 4th instar I feel like it’s abdomen is also darker and splochier than Venatoria slings I’ve seen in the past. I plan on ordering another specimen from a different vendor also labeling them “Thai Caves” for comparison. https://www.markeisingbirding.com/index/heteropoda-sp-huntsman-spider-sp this is what is supposed to be being sold under the label tho I believe!

 

[The Snark]

Sounds like a solid plan. Comparisons will, if nothing else, help reveal how together and intelligent the suppliers are.

To wit: "Dear Sir or Madam, may I point out most respectfully the Blattodea you sent me has eight legs? And the micrathena you sent me a while back pupated and now has wings."

 

[ForTW]

The sp. Thai caves from Mark are Black/white, almost viridasius like.
The cf. maxima look similar to het maxima but smaller (20-25cm legspan). They come from Thailand aswell.

Last but not least is the true heteropoda maxima which has nothing to so with the Ines above and are endemic to Laos (29.03.22).

This looks like a cf maxima.