Non theraphosid mygalomorph (poss. barychelid)

[Henry Kane]

Here's some new shots of the mystery spider doing what he does best...munching down.

 

[Henry Kane]

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[Henry Kane]

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[Henry Kane]

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[Alex S.]

Awesome pics, Gary. Its such a beautiful specimen.

Alex S.

 

[Big Mike]

Atrax, I have recently aquired 2 different species of barychelids from 2 different sources that were all sold as trapdoor spiders. Well, as you know, these spiders are being inadvertantly mislabled due to a lack of information given by those who are collecting them. I have not had any luck with finding sites regarding this species on the net. Most of the sites I have come across are informative scientific papers, but lack any good descriptions or pictures. In your earlier post, you mentioned that you found a web site that led you to believe your spider was a barychelid. I would love to take a look at the site you were refering to. I will post pics as soon as I get my camera back from being serviced.

Mike.

 

[Henry Kane]

Hey Mike. I'd love to see some pics. I'll have to get back to you this evening when I get home from work with the info on that site.
May I ask where you acquired your spiders from?

Atrax

 

[phoenixxavierre]

mystery spider

Nice pics!
Looks a bit like a purseweb spider.

Paul

 

[Tarantula Lover]

HEY!!

Originally posted by Atrax
...

GREAT PICS!! how big is it? m or f? WOW!!!! What is it eating?


James

 

[Henry Kane]

Thanks!

Eating a cricket,
about 3" legspan,
and I believe it's a female.

Atrax

 

[Raveness]

Great pictures it looks like a black trapdoor spider to me

 

[Big Mike]

Originally posted by Atrax
Hey Mike. I'd love to see some pics. I'll have to get back to you this evening when I get home from work with the info on that site.
May I ask where you acquired your spiders from?

Atrax

I got some of them from Todd Gearheart and a few others from a local petstore. I got my camera back this evening but my lighting sucks so I will try to post pics tomorrow. Any luck with that website?

Mike

 

[Gillian]

Gary,
So THAT'S what the spider was that I caught this past spring. I looked everywhere, and could find nothing on it. I released it, lest I accidentally kill it. My roomie found it on the wall, and scooped it up in a pickle jar.

Peace,
Gillian

 

[Henry Kane]

Originally posted by Big Mike
I got some of them from Todd Gearheart and a few others from a local petstore. I got my camera back this evening but my lighting sucks so I will try to post pics tomorrow. Any luck with that website?

Mike

Hi Big Mike, sorry for the delay in response. Here's one link with some pretty limited info...

http://www.calacademy.org/research/entomology/madagascar_spiders/

And another...

http://www.calacademy.org/research/guinea_islands/text/Bioko_report_spiders.htm

Among these two, there are probably some good contacts for better information on Barychelids but there's another site with pics and info I'm still trying to locate. I'll get back to you when I find the URL.

Atrax

 

[Big Mike]

Darell Ubick, one of the authors of the links you posted, is an awesome arachnologist. I have visited the California Academy of Sciences several times. If you live anywhere near San Fransisco you should try to attend the course in the link below. Ubick is an unbelievable teacher. And I will be attending this year for sure. The dates arent up for 2003 but I spoke with him and he said it will be in the begining of July.

http://thecity.sfsu.edu/snfc/spiders.htm

I have a great book on African Mygalamorphs that deals exclusively with Baboon Spiders, Trapdoors and their kin. I ordered a few more to save on shipping for a few of my collegues that wanted the title as well. They are $40 but they have to be shipped from South Africa, and it takes FOREVER to get the book in the mail. Here are the specs.

A5 format, 128 pages
243 line drawings; 25 maps; 6 full colour photographs on cover and 12 black and white photographs are included
Ring binded with full colour cover
A CD-ROM with hyperlinked text and a photogallery is an additional feature in the inside of the back cover.

I will let you know when they arive if you are interested.

Mike

 

[Henry Kane]

Hi Mike. Yes, please do let me know when they arrive. I'd love to have a copy. Thanks for the offer.

Atrax

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Originally posted by Big Mike
Darell Ubick, one of the authors of the links you posted, is an awesome arachnologist. I have visited the California Academy of Sciences several times. If you live anywhere near San Fransisco you should try to attend the course in the link below. Ubick is an unbelievable teacher. And I will be attending this year for sure. The dates arent up for 2003 but I spoke with him and he said it will be in the begining of July.

http://thecity.sfsu.edu/snfc/spiders.htm

I have a great book on African Mygalamorphs that deals exclusively with Baboon Spiders, Trapdoors and their kin. I ordered a few more to save on shipping for a few of my collegues that wanted the title as well. They are $40 but they have to be shipped from South Africa, and it takes FOREVER to get the book in the mail. Here are the specs.

A5 format, 128 pages
243 line drawings; 25 maps; 6 full colour photographs on cover and 12 black and white photographs are included
Ring binded with full colour cover
A CD-ROM with hyperlinked text and a photogallery is an additional feature in the inside of the back cover.

I will let you know when they arive if you are interested.

Mike

Please do let us all know!
I would be interested in that myself!

Paul

 

[Arachniphile]

Back on topic...

Is it a trapdoor then?

Got any pics of that spider that shows the prosoma and the eye arrangement?

Did it burrow?

 

[Big Mike]

Originally posted by Arachniphile
Back on topic...

Is it a trapdoor then?

Got any pics of that spider that shows the prosoma and the eye arrangement?

Did it burrow?

Im not quite sure what you mean by your post. This entire thread is on topic. The topic is whether this is a trapdoor spider or not. Which we have established that it isnt. It is one of the barychelids. The websites that he presented deals with this family of spiders, and the book directly deals with these wonderful spiders. The spider course is offered by an arachnologist who authored the website that deals with this family of spiders. These spiders were sold under different names including "African Spotted Trapdoor" And others. Also, the book I mentioned in my previous post has detailed line drawings of these spiders along with eye patterns. I will see if they wouldnt mind my posting one of the drawings here soon. Yes they borrow. The 2 that I have that are identical to the one pictured here, are thriving in a trapdoor type setup.

Big Mike

 

[phoenixxavierre]

Originally posted by Martin H.
Hello Mike,

are you talking about this book?

• Dippenaar-Schoeman, A. S. (2002): Baboon and Trapdoor Spiders of Southern Africa: An Identification Manual. Agricultural Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa.
  >>click me<<

I got it some month ago – interesting book, indeed!

all the best,
Martin

www.spiderpix.com

For whatever reason, I can't get the link to open all the way, so my question is this: Is the book written in English? Stupid question perhaps, but I've never heard of or seen the book, so...
Thanks,

Paul