ID problem right now in the trade

[xenesthis]

I did a trade recently with a hobbyist for his Phormitopus atrichmateus "Red Island Birdeater". When I received it, it was not that species but the more common P. cancerides "Haitian Brown". The person he bought it from sold it as a P. atrichmateus. Upon searching some dealer sites, I saw the problem in full light. Somebody has been mixing up the common and latin names and they also think the two species are the same, when they are not. "Real" P. atrichmateus are extremely rare in our hobby right now. They were first offered as CB spiderlings in the late '90s and the late B. Capiz had a beautiful 8" female. Anybody selling P. atrichmateus in the U.S. right now should be questioned about that ID. P. atrichmateus is much darker overall, and the purple/reddish-burgundy is all over the legs, not just the femurs as in P. cancerides. See Pics below. for comparision.

Todd

 

[Vys]

Yes, lelle at hem.spray.se/minax says P.atrichomatus is probably the most aggressive theraposid he's ever had


EDIT: Not that it has anything to do with the original post, but oh well..

 

[Vayu Son]

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Ive seen this in alot of places as well, my own turned out to be cancerides as well. Anyone done breeding on these to determine if they are diff. species or merely a color morph, such as we have in P.murinus vs usumbara?

-V