new mexico black tarantulas?

[Jacobchinarian]

when my dad was a kid he found a few of these what spieces did he find?

 

[AbraCadaver]

Sounds like one of those riddles from pre-school..

 

[AzJohn]

More than likely a Mature Male Aphonopelma of some sort. Many a black.

 

[TerribleGrizz]

It was more than likely some type of Aphonopelma. Impossible for a specific ID without pictures.

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

It was more than likely some type of Aphonopelma. Impossible for a specific ID without pictures.

More than likely? I would have to say it definitely was Aphonopelma, no question.

 

[TerribleGrizz]

It depends on what part of New Mexico we're talking about. If it was southern New Mexico, as in close to the border, isn't possible that it could've been some type of Brachypelma? Many Brachys are mostly black also.

I'm not asking to be spiteful, I'm actually genuinely curious now that this thought occured to me.

 

[Chris_Skeleton]

It depends on what part of New Mexico we're talking about. If it was southern New Mexico, as in close to the border, isn't possible that it could've been some type of Brachypelma? Many Brachys are mostly black also.

I'm not asking to be spiteful, I'm actually genuinely curious now that this thought occured to me.

Hmm if it was close enough, I guess it couldve been. I can't say if it is or not, can someone shed light on this?

 

[AbraCadaver]

Well, tarantulas don't know borders, so if the climate is similar, which it usually is when the locations are close by, it wouldn't be impossible for some to have wandered into new mexico, even though it's not a native species. But seeing as Brachypelma is clasified as a south american species, I would assume it to be an Aphonopelma, simply because if the climate was right for it, Brachypelma would simply be an american species, if it could be found in the whole of America.. Just my uneducated guess though, but that's the thought that occurs to me..

 

[Bill S]

... it wouldn't be impossible for some to have wandered into new mexico, even though it's not a native species. But seeing as Brachypelma is clasified as a south american species, I would assume it to be an Aphonopelma, ...

Tarantulas are pretty small to wander that far - not exactly like migratory birds or wandering jaguars.

Brachypelma is a genus, not a species. And they are found in much of southern Mexico and Central America. However, I'm unaware of any species of Brachypelma that gets within a hundred miles of the U.S./Mexican border. (Ignoring, of course, introduced species such as Brachypelma vagans.) A generation ago there would not have been any introduced species anyway.

As you said, though, I would assume the species he saw to be an Aphonopelma of some sort. That genus is in the process of being revised, so I won't make wild guesses as to which one the OP's dad might have seen, but I'd bet they were wandering males during the summer. In our local variety (Aphonopelma chalcodes, southeastern Arizona) the wandering males in the summer are largely black.

 

[AbraCadaver]

Yeah, I just wrote the wrong thing, my thought and my typing didn't really match.. What I meant to say was "some Brachypelma species", as in some of them, those living furthest north. But without alot of gesticulation I can never seem to get my point across properly.

And I wasn't saying they did it all in one day, and that it was one single spider doing it. It could be generations going further and further north.

 

[DawgPoundSound]

Tarantulas are pretty small to wander that far - not exactly like migratory birds or wandering jaguars.

Brachypelma is a genus, not a species. And they are found in much of southern Mexico and Central America. However, I'm unaware of any species of Brachypelma that gets within a hundred miles of the U.S./Mexican border. (Ignoring, of course, introduced species such as Brachypelma vagans.) A generation ago there would not have been any introduced species anyway.

As you said, though, I would assume the species he saw to be an Aphonopelma of some sort. That genus is in the process of being revised, so I won't make wild guesses as to which one the OP's dad might have seen, but I'd bet they were wandering males during the summer. In our local variety (Aphonopelma chalcodes, southeastern Arizona) the wandering males in the summer are largely black.

Speaking of the Brachypelma vagans, they are well established in Florida now, especially in the central region of the state. I wonder if this will hit their price tag a bit eventually as they'll become even more abundant.

 

[Bill S]

Speaking of the Brachypelma vagans, they are well established in Florida now, especially in the central region of the state. I wonder if this will hit their price tag a bit eventually as they'll become even more abundant.

The population in Florida is small, and although a few people have caught and raised specimens from this population, I doubt it will impact the economics of the species in the hobby. Mexico prohibits the export of the species from there, so I guess the Florida population does serve as a potential reservoir. But realistically, breeding captive specimens will be the primary source of the species for hobbyists from now on.

 

[Bill S]

Yeah, I just wrote the wrong thing, my thought and my typing didn't really match..

And I wasn't saying they did it all in one day, and that it was one single spider doing it. It could be generations going further and further north.

I kind of figured that was what you had in mind. Even so, I doubt that Brachypelma will expand from Mexico into the U.S. The Mexican Brachypelmas are found in the central and southern Mexican states, not in the border states. If there is a northern drift of any species, it will be measured on a geologic time scale.

 

[AbraCadaver]

Yes, and that was sort of my point too... It wouldn't have been a south American genus, if they were found in all of America..

So I think we agree...

 

[kripp_keeper]

when my dad was a kid he found a few of these what spieces did he find?

ಠ_ಠ how old are you?

 

[Bill S]

Yes, and that was sort of my point too... It wouldn't have been a south American genus, if they were found in all of America..

So I think we agree...

Yep. We're pretty much on the same page here. Except that I looked up the genus in Smith's paper on classification and identification of tarantulas, and all of the species he lists are found in southern Mexico and Central America (with one exception in the Caribbean), and none were found in South America. I'm sure there's been some updates since that publication, but Brachypelma appears to have radiated out from southern Mexico, not South America.