I need help identifying the species of this tarantula

[AchillesGoh540]

Hi. This is the tarantula that my friend found in the woods of Penang Island, Malaysia. He caught this thing around 4 months ago. I seriously need help in identifying the species and the sex of it. It's a lil' bit more than 4 inches. It's suppose to be the same species as the one I set as my profile picture because they look pretty much alike. I recieved around 4 juvies that measures roughly 2 inches or more and only one had achieved a 4 inch of legspan. Gave all the juvies away and only kept 1 with 2 inch and the one with 4 inch legspan. The smaller one died for no apparent reason in the death curl. I think it's a Chilobrachys sp. Penang but I'm not sure about it as I'm new in this hobby but all I know is that it is much faster and much more agressive than my Venezuelan Suntiger, and I think it's faster than my old Singapore Blue too (yes I know none of my tarantulas are that suitable for beginners but they are the cheapest I can find here). Oh by the way, I haven't fed this yet until after I kept it for like a week (I just received it a week ago from the friend) because I've heard people saying it's not encouraged to feed a tarantula just after rehousing it and should only do it after a few days. I tried offering it a cricket like 4 hours ago and it still haven't touched it although it do show me its threat pose and tty to escape the enclosure whenever I open the lid of the enclosure. Any help in identifying this species is much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Marijan2]

Is there any way to get better pictures? Both dorsal and ventral

 

[creepa]

Its impossible to tell the species of a tarantula from a picture and i can only take a wild quess about the genus...

Can you post some better pictures of the spider?
And is the one with the 4 inch legspan an adult or not?

 

[AchillesGoh540]

@Marijan2
Ummm... I'll try to snap a better photo later as I'm not at home now. It's damn defensive, I tried to snap a closer photo of it but it lunged at my phone and the phone fell into the container and I couldn't retrieve it for a few minutes just now. The container I kept it in is made of plastic so the photos of the ventral view I'll upload later might be of terrible quality due to the reflecting surface of the plastic. This might be the best dorsal view I could capture but I'll try to capture another one later if it climb to the wall of container.

@creepa
Hi. Like i mentioned above, I'll try to post a few better photos later. I mentioned in my post that I'm new in this hobby, right? And since I don't know the species of it, i can't tell you if 4 inch of legspan is counted as an adult or not... but do you have any idea what species of tarantulas that possess this type of colouration are found in Malaysia?

 

[Marijan2]

but do you have any idea what species of tarantulas that possess this type of colouration are found in Malaysia?

My best bet with these provided pictures is Chilobrachys, anything else is much more vibrant and colorful(Cyriopagopus, Lampropelma etc.)

 

[creepa]

@Marijan2
Ummm... I'll try to snap a better photo later as I'm not at home now. It's damn defensive, I tried to snap a closer photo of it but it lunged at my phone and the phone fell into the container and I couldn't retrieve it for a few minutes just now. The container I kept it in is made of plastic so the photos of the ventral view I'll upload later might be of terrible quality due to the reflecting surface of the plastic. This might be the best dorsal view I could capture but I'll try to capture another one later if it climb to the wall of container.

@creepa
Hi. Like i mentioned above, I'll try to post a few better photos later. I mentioned in my post that I'm new in this hobby, right? And since I don't know the species of it, i can't tell you if 4 inch of legspan is counted as an adult or not... but do you have any idea what species of tarantulas that possess this type of colouration are found in Malaysia?

I know you are new to the hobby but maybe you have seen this species in the past before you where interested in tarantulas...
And maybe they are commonly seen by you and the rest of the people over there.

Once when i was a kid and visited Penang i saw a big spider near the snake temple after a heavy rain so maybe your elders know more..., like my grandparents knew a lot about the critters in my country of origin Indonesia.

 

[AchillesGoh540]

My best bet with these provided pictures is Chilobrachys, anything else is much more vibrant and colorful(Cyriopagopus, Lampropelma etc.)

Ummm OK, here's the photos. Sorry for the terrible quality.

Here's the ventral view of it.

And here's the dorsal view of it.

I know you are new to the hobby but maybe you have seen this species in the past before you where interested in tarantulas...
And maybe they are commonly seen by you and the rest of the people over there.

Once when i was a kid and visited Penang i saw a big spider near the snake temple after a heavy rain so maybe your elders know more..., like my grandparents knew a lot about the critters in my country of origin Indonesia.

Uhhh... unfortunately, no. My paternal side of family lives in Paya Terubong, which was pretty much undeveloped until the mid-90s. My father used to go into the woods with his friends and brothers to hunt for boars, porcupines and pangolins, sometimes even civet when he was a child, but he had never met a tarantula before. Giant golden orb spiders was very common and still are, but he had yet to see this species of tarantula until i got it from my friend. Neither had my grandmother. I tried asking my uncle who lived in those more rural areas and he hadn't met anything like this before too. I don't know much stuffs about critters in both Indonesia and Malaysia, all I know is that i love the char koay teow of Penang and the luwak coffee of Indonesia. I always buy the coffee whenever I'm go to Indonesia or ask my friends to get them for me. They are worth the high price!

 

[Bugmom]

Known Malaysian species, to my knowledge: Chilobrachys, Coremiocnemis, Psednocnemis, Selenocosmia, Haplopelma, Lampropelma, Lyrognathus, Phlogiellus.

There's little chance of identifying this tarantula by photos alone. Nice looking T but no idea what it is. My best guess is a Chilobrachys species.

 

[creepa]

I'm sorry but i cant help you..., this could still be anything.

I can give you a few pointers though...:

- If the front legs are longer than the rear it could be Chilobrachys.
- If the rear legs are longer than the front it could be Lyrognathus, Coremiocnemis or Psednocnemis. (But i highly doubt that they are found on the island of Penang)
- If the rear and front legs are the same length it could be Selenocosmia
- And if the scopula on leg 4 is only on 3/4 of the metatarsus it could even be Orphnaecus

 

[Andrea82]

Some info on where it was found could be useful in finding the species. In what type of habitat was it found? Tree, burrow, bushy grassland?

 

[AchillesGoh540]

Known Malaysian species, to my knowledge: Chilobrachys, Coremiocnemis, Psednocnemis, Selenocosmia, Haplopelma, Lampropelma, Lyrognathus, Phlogiellus.

There's little chance of identifying this tarantula by photos alone. Nice looking T but no idea what it is. My best guess is a Chilobrachys species.

Thanks a lot for the info. Really appreciate it.

I'm sorry but i cant help you..., this could still be anything.

I can give you a few pointers though...:

- If the front legs are longer than the rear it could be Chilobrachys.
- If the rear legs are longer than the front it could be Lyrognathus, Coremiocnemis or Psednocnemis. (But i highly doubt that they are found on the island of Penang)
- If the rear and front legs are the same length it could be Selenocosmia
- And if the scopula on leg 4 is only on 3/4 of the metatarsus it could even be Orphnaecus

Thanks for the info. The front legs sure looks longer than its rear legs. Guess I'll bring it to the Civil Defence Department and ask if they had encountered this species before.

Some info on where it was found could be useful in finding the species. In what type of habitat was it found? Tree, burrow, bushy grassland?

I remember he saying that it's near the roots of larger trees. He didn't tell too much and refuse to bring me to the place, so I can't provide you with a precise answer too.