ID: Sparassidae

JLPicard

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Hello gents and lasses. I'm not one to post regularly, but I do give the forums a weekly browse.

Anyway, a while ago I purchased a huntsman spider from TSS under the scientific name of "Mixed Species - hutsman *edit*". Sadly this leaves me with no idea what spider is currently in my collection. What's even better (or worse) is that she just made an egg sac from which I was able to collect 40 slings.

If anyone could help me to identify the species, I'd be forever grateful. The location from whence it came is unknown to me, but on the TSS it says she's from Malaysia. I can provide better or more specific pictures if need be. Cheers!
 

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The Snark

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I can't ID the spider but the person who wrote that "Mixed Species...... is a Homo Erectus sub Moronicus.
 

The Snark

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I'm getting thrown off by the bright coloration but on closer inspection I'd agree. It's just a very vivid high contrast picture.
 

Ungoliant

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It doesn't look like Heteropoda venatoria to me. It's missing the classic yellow clypeus, and the legs and body are much more mottled/banded than they should be.

However, I can't begin to venture a guess on a "Mixed Species - huntsman" from Malaysia.
 

The Snark

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It's got the yellow band. It's half in shadow. But I know what you mean. They usually are pretty drab and dingy. But allowing for a high contrast shot, they do a have that coloration. Normally just more subdued.

But anyway, the setae are correct, one posterior on the first and second leg, two on the third pair.
 

JLPicard

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The picture was basically taken in full sunlight to show of her incredible camouflage, but you are right, it is highly contrasted because of it. I'll try my best and take crappy pictures tomorrow as that seems to be the standard!

Thanks for all the helpful replies, and yeah, I love TSS, but throwing a bunch of huntsman/men/s together and naming it "Mixed species" is just a wee bit daft lol.
 
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JLPicard

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Sorry for the delay, it's been a busy week for me! I hope these pictures are of any use, if not, I'll just have to wait until I have an adult couple and send them to Peter Jaeger. Cheers!

IMG_7308.JPG IMG_7311.JPG IMG_7313.JPG IMG_7314.JPG
 

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The Snark

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@Ungoliant had a good call. Only the fourth of those shots shows the clypeus. What we need here is a full face mug shot. ;)
I get the feeling it has just molted.
 

MossMan

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Looks like an H. venatoria to me. Even if it turns out to be something you can't identify, any huntsman is always fun to keep. Except when rehousing them, that's a nightmare
 

JLPicard

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I think I've been relying too much on the listed location (Malaysia) to come up with any species. I do not believe it to be H. Venatoria either; however, after some digging I found there to be an uncanny resemblance between my specimen and the Australian H. Jugulans or H. Cervina. Anyone know their Aussie spiders?
 

JLPicard

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Except when rehousing them, that's a nightmare
I'll never understand how the Eratigena genus managed to capture the title of fastest spider on the planet. Huntsman are, in my experience, even worse than Tapinauchenius. :banghead:
 

Nephila Edulis

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I think I've been relying too much on the listed location (Malaysia) to come up with any species. I do not believe it to be H. Venatoria either; however, after some digging I found there to be an uncanny resemblance between my specimen and the Australian H. Jugulans or H. Cervina. Anyone know their Aussie spiders?
I've had three Heteropoda jugulans in the past. I don't think this is an H. jugulans, but their colours vary massively in different areas. Some are mottled brown and others are almost red
 

MossMan

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I think I've been relying too much on the listed location (Malaysia) to come up with any species. I do not believe it to be H. Venatoria either; however, after some digging I found there to be an uncanny resemblance between my specimen and the Australian H. Jugulans or H. Cervina. Anyone know their Aussie spiders?
How didn't I think of that! They sell heteropoda jugulans here. Though they are normally a redder colour than that (at least in my experience). I'm also pretty sure that they can be found on some islands off the Australian coast, its possible they got to Malaysia by floating on debris. Especially seeing as there was a cyclone recently
 
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The Snark

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I'll never understand how the Eratigena genus managed to capture the title of fastest spider on the planet. Huntsman are, in my experience, even worse than Tapinauchenius.
It's a question of physics. Couple that with Eratigena demonstrating their speed under measurable circumstances. When talking a very brief sprint, which is fastest becomes moot. I've seen Lynx spiders take a few steps, an inch or two, faster than my eye could follow. So what we are talking about is that nasty confusing world of inertia; time, speed, distance - energy equations.
Take the rail 'guns'. The capacitors discharge in series at close to the speed of light. The object accelerates in accordance with it's inertia. The speed of the object can vary drastically, several thousand percent.

Thus these spider sprints reflect their inertia X energy. The muscles, energy available, are able to deliver a finite amount before bio-physical limitations take over.
At a very rough guess, Eratigena accelerates nearly to the speed of sound, >500-600 mph. Lynx and others, having similar speeds. Eratigena has a bonus in that is builds it's own race track that it is specifically adapted to run on.
Again a very rough guess, I'd say the fastest Huntsman sprint is well below 200 mph. Unlike most other speedsters it is capable of covering several feet of distance before the available energy factor kicks in.


As for not being a Venatoria, considering Jaeger's somewhat gloomy outlook on IDing spiders in Asia, waiting for genetics to completely usurp Linnaeus, it's quite possible this spider is something other. Perhaps even a sub species of Venatoria.
 

JLPicard

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Thank you all for the informative replies! That being said, I'll send a couple off once they're older to Jaeger. Bookmark the thread, cause I'll probably get back to you guys in only a year or so lol.
 
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