Other Critters on island

[Azoun]

To everyone who's been keeping tabs on the Scolopendra thread ~
Delighted to report there are a few noteworthy 'other' animals woth mentioning that have been found on the island as well.

I collected my first Tailless Whip Scorpion (order Amblypygi) and it has done very well indeed. If anyone has these, I need advice on their diet. Hasn't eaten anything and won't pursue crickets when added to it's cage.

Secondly, new knowledge to me as well, we also have our own Tarantula, commonly named the Bahamian Ground Spider. Best of my own search results are calling this species Cyrtopholis bohotei. It's been described as a cross between a Haitian Brown and a Rosehair.

Again, if anyone has one of THESE, I'd like to discuss this Tarantula as well.
So the Scolopendra will have a couple new flatmates very soon. Cages ready.
Collection being planned...
Stay tuned.

 

[danread]

Hi Azoun,

Ah, you really are lucky to be able to go and collect such cool bugs where you live. In the UK we really dont have that much in the way of interesting (at least what i classify interesting i.e. big!!) invertebrate life. Post some pics in the correct forums, I'd especially liek to see the Amblypygid you have.

Cheers,

 

[Azoun]

Dan,
Will do.

Managed to dig out my old tripod for some future macro work on my collection so far.

The Amblypygid is relatively small, with body diameter roughy that of your smallest fingernail. Will post on the right forum when camera setup is running.

Here is one of the S. alternans that I managed to get before my batts died.

 

[Icey]

Hi Azoun,

Glad to see a fellow person from the Caribbean posting, just joined myself. We have loads of millipedes here, somehow they always end up in my office, which I find strange, but I'm the local bug wrangler so I always put them back out again or else the clowns here will kill them for no good reason at all. I haven't seen a centipede in years but one of my co-workers was talking about one under her flower pots the other day though, so at least I know the population has not been decimated.

We also have three native Ts that I know of, Psalmopoeus cambridgei, Avicularia Avicularia and H. incei.

The best part of living on an island is being able to catch your own bugs, the worst part is dealing with the ignorance of the people who would rather kill than live and let live. The overbearing part is having the Ministry of Agriculture bar you from bringing in new arachnid and myriopod species when they allow all other manner of creature to come in carte blanche...pfft.

Anyway good luck in making your collection grow.

 

[Azoun]

Well met, Icey:

I completely understand your viewpoint. We have much the same situation here, with import bans on everything you could imagine, put into practice by those without intrest. They'd just as soon stomp them dead as look at them.

Whenever I mention the idea of actually keeping a few alive as pets, you can imagine the looks that come my direction. I may as well tell them I'm raising a brood of brain-eating aliens. When I use the scientific names, the looks get even worse.

If the pedes generate such fear, I can't imagine what the T's will do...

Been out the past four evenings looking for our local flavor Tarantula, but so far no luck.

 

[Icey]

LOL I get the exact expressions I'm sure! Looks something like this I had someone refuse to come into my house to see my T, because she is "an artist and cannot look at things like that it will haunt her dreams" :wall: pfft now tell me what is more beautiful than a T (looks at forum title, well ok maybe a myriopod but you know what I mean ).

I'm going on a Tarantula collecting expedition to replace my poor boy this weekend. Its a three hour drive but will be well worth it. Lucky co worker has Avics Avics living in a shed by her house, I'll just go relieve her of a couple.

I've found the best way to find anything here is just to ask people if they've seen any and let them point you in that general direction...maybe you can just ask friends living on different parts of the island if they've seen any pedes or big hairy spiders around their area.

 

[Azoun]

Sounds fantastic;
Would love to see some pics of the Avics!

As yet I haven't been able to even find a pic online of the T's we have here on Andros. You can bet when I do get the specimen, I'll be putting pics of my own on the web. Most suppliers haven't even heard of C. bohotei, and they are pretty rare even here.

An engineer pal of mine reported one near his work station, roughly 20 miles south of where I'm located.

When he heard I was keeping Scolopendra, he suddenly didn't mind looking for the T's as well. His logic: he'd rather help me catch twenty T's than risk it with a single pede.

I must admit, if you have the S. alternans on Trinidad, be careful. Two days ago I obtained a second specimen and it is much larger than the first. This new one is very aggressive and moves so swiftly that my respect of this animal is quite healthy. While observing its acclimation to the new home, its motions looked more snakelike than that of an arthropod. Very fast.

My engineer friend may be right...

The bigger ones do make the T's look very docile by comparison.

 

[Icey]

Your engineer friend is right...think I'll stick to my tarantulas, millipedes and scorpions..lol

 

[tarcan]

Hey Icey,

Here are a couple of myriapods from T & T...

These first ones, I found not too far from Arima... one of them, I have no clue what it is or how it is classified...

 

[Steven]

don't tell me the last one is a Peripatus (Onychophora) :drool:

 

[tarcan]

Steven, I know nothing about myriapods... it looked "spongy" did not seem to have a hard exoskeletton and had few "feet"... seeemed a mixt of a catterpillar, a worm and a milllipede! LOL

 

[tarcan]

This one was seen in the Cumana region, I like that picture!

 

[Steven]

you should feet it crickets in case you're still not sure it's a "velvetworm"
if it sprays a kind of glue on it's pray,... well your 100% sure !


d*mn,... been looking for years to get one,...

how big is it ?

 

[tarcan]

And a few more... the centipede had babies, sorry for the crappy pic, it was raining if I remember right... those two pictures are in the Arima region as well...

 

[tarcan]

Steven, do not get over-excited! It is still on Trinidad Island, not at my home!LOL

I had collecting permits for theraphosids, scorpions, centipedes and amblipygids only... millipedes are illegal to import in Canada...

Take care

Martin

 

[tarcan]

Oh, sorry, forgot to answer about the size, I would say it was roughly 4 inches in lenght...

 

[Steven]

you've got me quite jalous now :worship: :worship:

wish i could take trips like that
are these all the pictures you've taken ?

more, we need more :}

 

[tarcan]

Steven, these are all that fit in the Myriapod section!, but I (we, Amada and I) took over 250 pictures... I will try to post a few more whenever I get the chance... I put a few P. cambridgei ones in the T section a while ago...

BTW, since you are a centipede freak, did you know there is an Island called Centipede Island belonging to T & T??... you gotta love that place I tell you! Maybe when I go back I schedule to set foot on that island and I will let you know if it deserves it's name It is supposedly hard to stop on that island because the shores are very rocky (I am told)...

Take care

Martin

 

[Steven]

BTW, since you are a centipede freak, did you know there is an Island called Centipede Island belonging to T & T??... you gotta love that place I tell you! Maybe when I go back I schedule to set foot on that island and I will let you know if it deserves it's name It is supposedly hard to stop on that island because the shores are very rocky (I am told)...

Take care

Martin

thank ya very much for that info

any online documentary on that island ?



have to plan a holiday next year

 

[Wade]

Martin-

Soooooo....there really is a Centipede Island! The absolute biggest centipede I've ever seen was supposedly from "centipede island" near trinidad. This was a black monster easily exceeding 12" (and I mean really 12", not the typical pet trade exageration) offered for sale many years ago at a reptile show. The story I heard was that they are the largest predators on the island. Possibly S. viridicornis?

Velvet worms are not myriopods btw, they're in their own Phylum!

Wade