Phologius "goliath"

Steve Nunn

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 30, 2002
Messages
1,781
Good stuff, yep, that little male mating with the big girl is just incredible! And yep, he survived each time, the females are just so good with the males it's amazing, nothing like watching New World species fight it out, none of that sort of bs ;) In all the times I've bred Phlogius species, only twice have I ever seen a female eat the male, and one of those times the male lost his footing and slipped under her, she reacted badly to say the least ;)

Now as for the Selenotypus plumipes species group, those females are monsters in captivity, I'm yet to have a single male survive a breeding season, often even a single breeding session!! Most other Selenotypus spp. are much easier, as are Selenotholus spp. The now infamous rattler group are almost impossible to captive breed, almost......

Yep, maturation rates are often slow, but the UK account does not surprize me one bit, with power feeding a faster rate can be achieved.

@ jigalojey, which Aussie forum, the AIF forum??

Thanks guys,
Steve

---------- Post added 12-07-2013 at 12:55 AM ----------

I bought a P. sp 'Goliath'her as a 1/2 inch sling and 3 years later she is about 6.5 -7 inches, the MM in these pics is around 5-6 inches.
Thanks for showing the kids all grown up and doing their own thing, making new families. Even with the papers we're working on, I still feel the export success is one of my proudest moments, I spent about a year dealing with everyone in power over here telling me no way I'll ever get permission, but "they" often don't know what they're talking about ;) I've seen many second gen. offspring now, so in the end it really worked, I couldn't be happier about that, images like these just make my day :)

Thanks
 

paassatt

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Messages
887
Here is my big girl breeding with one of the smaller mature males......now you judge based on your mature small males, just how big the females can get ;) This female continues to grow each moult.....(and yes, he's in the air!!)

View attachment 122533 View attachment 122534
Amazing pictures, Steve. The difference in the sizes of the mature male and the female are simply stunning. It reminds me of seeing tiny mature male Nephila species in a female's web.
 

syndicate

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 26, 2005
Messages
4,497
Australian Phlogius race to about 5-6" in legspan, than growth is steady, but slow. If you breed them, they will not grow the following moult. Goliaths will get to about 8" if given enough time, it can take 10 years if you breed them twice once mature, sometimes longer.............P.crassipes will attain similar sizes, but not as chunky.... I have posted images of my big ones on my hand (both P.crassipes and P. sp. goliath)...... They take time guys, they don't grow like New World species. Goliath males are unique, they have 2 distinct maturation times, one at around the 3.5- 4" mark maximum, the other at about 6".

Steve
Heya Steve,
That's really interesting about the growth rate and its effects being altered by mating the females!Never knew that!I haven't noticed this in any other Selenocosmiinae, is this isolated to the Aussie t's alone?
Hope all is well man!
-Chris
 

jigalojey

Arachnoknight
Joined
Dec 23, 2012
Messages
206
Good stuff, yep, that little male mating with the big girl is just incredible! And yep, he survived each time, the females are just so good with the males it's amazing, nothing like watching New World species fight it out, none of that sort of bs ;) In all the times I've bred Phlogius species, only twice have I ever seen a female eat the male, and one of those times the male lost his footing and slipped under her, she reacted badly to say the least ;)

Now as for the Selenotypus plumipes species group, those females are monsters in captivity, I'm yet to have a single male survive a breeding season, often even a single breeding session!! Most other Selenotypus spp. are much easier, as are Selenotholus spp. The now infamous rattler group are almost impossible to captive breed, almost......

Yep, maturation rates are often slow, but the UK account does not surprize me one bit, with power feeding a faster rate can be achieved.

@ jigalojey, which Aussie forum, the AIF forum??

Thanks guys,
Steve

---------- Post added 12-07-2013 at 12:55 AM ----------



Thanks for showing the kids all grown up and doing their own thing, making new families. Even with the papers we're working on, I still feel the export success is one of my proudest moments, I spent about a year dealing with everyone in power over here telling me no way I'll ever get permission, but "they" often don't know what they're talking about ;) I've seen many second gen. offspring now, so in the end it really worked, I couldn't be happier about that, images like these just make my day :)

Thanks
Yeah mate the AIF forum http://inverts.com.au/showthread.php?27444-A-spider-of-interest-PICS!!!/page8
 

Steve Nunn

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 30, 2002
Messages
1,781
Hey Chris,
Hope you are well :)
Interesting question, it is common in all Phlogius I've bred and raised over the years. It doesn't seem applicable to the other Aussie genera though, so maybe, I don't know enough about the African groups to be sure. It may be directly related to an adaption to a hazardous environment, firstly the two maturation stages for males of this species (small males mature quickly and may avoid greater risk of bushfire, flooding, etc...while the bigger males provide the opportunity for "premium" breeding), and, the big males may travel much farther than their smaller counterparts and live longer if they live to maturity. It's like a breeding insurance policy for the wild populations. One clutch can still provide fertile males even 2 years into their life cycle, thus possibly skipping floods etc that could wipe out the bigger males that have yet to mature. This seems to be the case in captivity anyway. So, I'd see it as an adaption to the environment, and the slow down in size growth from breeding may also be a direct result of living in a hazardous environment too (but to really hypothesize that decently would require some pretty heavy work in the field).

Steve
Heya Steve,
That's really interesting about the growth rate and its effects being altered by mating the females!Never knew that!I haven't noticed this in any other Selenocosmiinae, is this isolated to the Aussie t's alone?
Hope all is well man!
-Chris
 

Poec54

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Messages
4,745
Yep, maturation rates are often slow, but the UK account does not surprize me one bit, with power feeding a faster rate can be achieved.
Steve, how often do you feed your Aussie T's and what do you feed them? What would you consider to be 'powerfeeding?'

---------- Post added 12-07-2013 at 07:29 AM ----------

I still feel the export success is one of my proudest moments, I spent about a year dealing with everyone in power over here telling me no way I'll ever get permission, but "they" often don't know what they're talking about ;) I've seen many second gen. offspring now, so in the end it really worked, I couldn't be happier about that, images like these just make my day :)
I got back into the spider hobby last year, and was floored to see Australian tarantulas available in the US. It's like a dream come true. Never thought either government would allow it, but I'm glad you persevered. Thanks!

What species have you been able to export so far?
 

Steve Nunn

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 30, 2002
Messages
1,781
Steve, how often do you feed your Aussie T's and what do you feed them? What would you consider to be 'powerfeeding?'

---------- Post added 12-07-2013 at 07:29 AM ----------



I got back into the spider hobby last year, and was floored to see Australian tarantulas available in the US. It's like a dream come true. Never thought either government would allow it, but I'm glad you persevered. Thanks!

What species have you been able to export so far?
I consider power feeding a way to always have prey available to the spider, maximum exposure to food at will. This could equate to any amount I know, but you get threm the maximum dong it this way. Unfortunately, you also attract other small web building spiders, mites and other nasties, so I'm not big on powerfeeding. Then there's powerfeeding with due care, where you may feed every couple fo days, but remove anything not eaten within the next day. Some say this shorten the life of tarantulas, but that is pure conjecture.

I've exported S.plumipes, Phlogius crassipes, Phlogius cf. crassipes (SARINA, different species, but because undescribed they assign them to the nearest described relative), Goliaths and Phlogius crassipes (STENTS) - (again, under the PQ113 name), Selenotypus sp. Nebo, Nebo dwarf form, C.tropix and maybe a couple others as well :) It was a while back since I exported ;) Sent to: Japan, Canada, the UK, Germany, Denmark, USA, all over the place :) Had to prove second generation breeding capability on each of the species I exported to a submission to the Federal govt, and State govt permits and licencing, had to have the breeding facility approved, all of which was a success :)
 

Poec54

Arachnoemperor
Joined
Mar 26, 2013
Messages
4,745
I've exported S.plumipes, Phlogius crassipes, Phlogius cf. crassipes (SARINA, different species, but because undescribed they assign them to the nearest described relative), Goliaths and Phlogius crassipes (STENTS) - (again, under the PQ113 name), Selenotypus sp. Nebo, Nebo dwarf form, C.tropix and maybe a couple others as well :) It was a while back since I exported ;) Sent to: Japan, Canada, the UK, Germany, Denmark, USA, all over the place :) Had to prove second generation breeding capability on each of the species I exported to a submission to the Federal govt, and State govt permits and licencing, had to have the breeding facility approved, all of which was a success :)
In the US, there's also Phlogius going under the names of 'Eunice', 'Blue Leg', and 'Black Pressley'. I assume that's your handiwork too?

That orange one that was mentioned, any chance of that being exported?

Has there been any arboreals found in the wetter areas? You've got some gorgeous rain forests that seem like ideal habitats for them.
 

Steve Nunn

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 30, 2002
Messages
1,781
In the US, there's also Phlogius going under the names of 'Eunice', 'Blue Leg', and 'Black Pressley'. I assume that's your handiwork too?

That orange one that was mentioned, any chance of that being exported?

Has there been any arboreals found in the wetter areas? You've got some gorgeous rain forests that seem like ideal habitats for them.
Yes, all my handywork :) The blue leg IS PQ113 and sp. black also fits under that name for export, however I feel they are distinct species, just not described as of yet. We are working to fix this.

No chance of anymore exports, the cost of the permits far outweighed any possible profits (and I got sick of some importers [not naming names] demanding I send adult stock by the hundreds, which I refused to do, as they would not be captive bred). So no chance on the orange one, sorry.

And yes, we do know of arboreals, particularly in the wetter areas, one of which I can confirm is a Phlogius species, the others I can't comment on just yet ;) But in time, there will be BIG news on Aussie T's coming......not yet known within the hobby.
 

syndicate

Arachnoemperor
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 26, 2005
Messages
4,497
And yes, we do know of arboreals, particularly in the wetter areas, one of which I can confirm is a Phlogius species, the others I can't comment on just yet ;) But in time, there will be BIG news on Aussie T's coming......not yet known within the hobby.
Look forward to hearing bout these new species!
-Chris
 

LordWaffle

Arachnobaron
Joined
Nov 20, 2013
Messages
451
Yes, all my handywork :) The blue leg IS PQ113 and sp. black also fits under that name for export, however I feel they are distinct species, just not described as of yet. We are working to fix this.

No chance of anymore exports, the cost of the permits far outweighed any possible profits (and I got sick of some importers [not naming names] demanding I send adult stock by the hundreds, which I refused to do, as they would not be captive bred). So no chance on the orange one, sorry.

And yes, we do know of arboreals, particularly in the wetter areas, one of which I can confirm is a Phlogius species, the others I can't comment on just yet ;) But in time, there will be BIG news on Aussie T's coming......not yet known within the hobby.

Well that is just unbelievably exciting. I hope sometime in the future more make it stateside.
 
Top