Poecilotheria metallica as the Holy Grail

[TheDarkFinder]

I'm bored.

So here it is

Is Poecilotheria metallica the Holy Grail of tarantulas.

A "Holy grail", in this term, is all-but-unobtainable ultimate goal for a person, organization, or field to achieve.

Is Poecilotheria metallica the only tarantula you would ever want? The only tarantula that you wish to get?

What would you give for this Holy Grail? If it is a truly the holy grail you would trade your whole collection for one?

Is it the goal of your collection to possess a Poecilotheria metallica?

So lets have it. Would you consider Poecilotheria metallica the holy grail or just a very beautiful tarantula that many want to have in your collection, but not the focus of your collection.

 

[DrAce]

And I think you're really dragging an issue out a little beyond where it needs to be. Perhaps you'd like to edit the wikipedia page yourself...

EDIT: the poll came up... I was just too quick and responded to the original post...

 

[TheDarkFinder]

Shouldn't this be a poll?

And I think you're really dragging an issue out a little beyond where it needs to be. Perhaps you'd like to edit the wikipedia page yourself...

You have to post first then the poll option comes up.
Second, Why would I post opinion as fact.

If it is then we can leave the wiki post alone.
If not this speedreader can change it.

Lastly this comes up about every 3 months or so.

 

[Austin S.]

There are plenty of tarantulas out there. I do not consider even one of them the 'grail of any species. As beautiful metallica is, I am 100% sure there are other species that have yet to be discovered that are more beautiful than metallica. Just my thoughts.

Austin

 

[Texas Blonde]

Nope, not a holy grail. I dont really consider any species to be a "holy grail" because there will always be some new one coming along. Though, I dont even buy spiders anymore.

 

[Talkenlate04]

Spillage from wiki I love it.............

No Id have to say its not the holy grail, Everyone has their own favorite, their own "Holy Grail". I personally would take an adult female B. Klassi over a P. Metallica any day. They are going to live longer then a P Metallica, and in my opinion are just as hard to come buy and more important to my collection.
If I did get a P. Metallica, id use it for trade to get mulitple Ts that I like. Its all about trade leverage.

 

[Midnightrdr456]

Its a gorgeous T but personally I think that there are others I would want more. I would take an adult female G. Pulchra over a Female P Metallica (unless they were the same price, then I would get the metallica and trade it for others that i wanted + more).

That being said, it is beautiful, and I definately want a female in my collection, but I think its quite a bit overrated for a just a blue spider.

 

[Mina]

I love all T's, I voted no, I don't think the metallica is the "end all and be all" of tarantulas. That does not mean I don't love them and think they are stunningly beautiful, I do, I just got one. However, in all honesty, I think there are other T's that can compare with metallicas for beauty. The GBB for instance. There are many beautiful T's, metallicas are just one of them. (That being said I adore mine, she is beautiful and active.)

 

[Michael Jacobi]

I don't know what the "wiki" reference in this thread refers to and don't care... social "encyclopedias" are of as much use as opinionated blogs. If it isn't peer-reviewed, it's accuracy is suspect and isn't worth the time it takes to type. That wiki stuff is utter crap.

But moving on to the topic of the thread. P. metallica is yesterday's news. I know it's easy for someone like me who has a bunch to say that, but it isn't even close to the most coveted or "rarest" tarantula in the hobby. Since there are over 850 species of tarantulas described to date, and less than 200 or so that have been in the hobby, none of the species available to international hobbyists can be considered "rarest". Even if we just limit our discussion to those that are not only in the hobby, but in the American hobby (forgetting for one moment that this is an international forum), there are far more uncommon tarantulas that can be named. There are very few Monocentropus balfouri in the US and this is the species that would currently rank among the most coveted hobby tarantulas. The same holds true for Encyocratella olivacea, which is represented in the US by only a handful of specimens. And if you want to talk about the genus Poecilotheria alone, P. tigrinawesseli is significantly less common in US collections than P. metallica. P. hanumavilasumica has been offered in Europe but I am unaware of any in the US, and the rarest of the described Poecs, both in captivity and in nature, is Poecilotheria smithi. And I am sure many of you have heard, there is a mysterious "black Poec" that will probably become the biggest thing if it ever makes it into the hobby

I know nothing of things holy... not even in a Monty Python-esque sense, so I would only say that - worldwide - one of the most sought after species is currently M. balfouri and the blue Poec wouldn't even make the top 10 list. Hell, it's probably only my fourth favorite Poec!

In closing, to use the definition stated by the thread starter: "A "Holy grail", in this term, is all-but-unobtainable ultimate goal for a person, organization, or field to achieve." This alone disproves the premise that P. metallica is the holy grail. It has proven easy to breed and there are a number of sacs and some 2nd instar nymphs in the collections of US breeders at this very moment. Anyone with the means (and the price will drop considerably), will soon be able to buy one. There probably isn't even any need to import captive-bred spiderlings from Europe again. It's no more "unobtainable" than any other tarantula. You either can afford it or you can't, but you will be able to buy one if you can. Good luck finding a M. balfouri for sale. Or Augacephalus junodi. Or Cyriopagopus sp. 'Borneo Black'. Or Encyocratella olivacea. Or any Pachistopelma sp. Or Ornithoctonus costalis. Or Haplocosmia nepalensis. Or Poecilotheria smithi. These all make P. metallica appear about as scarce as Grammostola pulchra (which isn't very abundant these days).

And, as has been pointed out, there are new species waiting to be discovered and many that have been discovered that are unknown in the hobby. In fact, I have seen photos of a newly discovered species that awaits description that, should it ever become available in the hobby, would become the new hot thing.

Finally, I should say that P. metallica is indeed a spectacular spider. Not only is it stunningly beautiful, but it has a very gentle demeanor for a Poec. I love them and certainly would never suggest the species isn't highly desirable. Most of the people who scoff at it don't have adult females in their collections to continually awe them. I am not disrespecting this magnificent theraphosid, only pointing out that its place in the hobby has been exaggerated and, a couple of years later, replaced by other more highly coveted species. A trend that will continue ad infinitum. But that tired cliché 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' applies. It's all about personal preference and if you like blue, which is one of the rarer colors in nature, P. metallica is breathtaking, but then so is H. lividum when they can be seen. And if vivid color is a paramount factor look at the 'red color form' of P. murinus (aka Usambara, aka OBT). If there were only a dozen of these in the hobby worldwide it would probably rank quite high among the "holy grail" species. All of these abitrary rankings are relative and, for the most part, silly.

As with everything on this humble forum, this is just one person's opinion (admittedly based on extensive experience and knowledge ) and dissention is encouraged.

Kind regards, Michael

 

[Gigas]

I personally don't like P. mettalica

 

[P. Novak]

I had to go with the second choice, they are gorgeous Ts, but not my "holy grail", I'd have to go with Ceratogyrus marshalli as my "holy grail". Nothing better then a T with a horn.

 

[phil jones]

no not one i keep but i love to have a G - PULCHRA :drool: :drool: :} :} :worship: :worship: ---- phil

 

[mandolin101]

While I voted for the second option, because of the given definition, I do not disagree with the use of the term "holy grail" in speedreaders wiki post. As I stated in that thread, I think he was trying to express how valued P. metallica is in the hobby, and I think he did it effectively.

 

[Scorpendra]

P. metallica is a beautiful tarantula, but it's a bit overhyped. i think M. balfouri is more deserving of the title.

 

[tarcan]

I think Micheal pretty much summed it up...

It is a no for me.

Martin

 

[Midnightrdr456]

Yeah, Michael summed it up better than anyone else can, or will bother doing now that he has. I would love to have one in my collection again, as i sold my sling a while back. But I would prefer others over it if I had to choose.

 

[BinarySpider2]

Fame

I think that while the metalica is obviously an attractive looking arachnid I still prefer the Avicularia genus no matter how skewed the individual Avicularia species are in both captive and wild breedings.

Interesting thing is that the Avicularia are a famous arachnid. I did in fact see a FAMOUS Avicularia avicularia on a movie late last night on TV. I am not 100% sure but I believe the movie was called EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS. It was your typical radiactive waste SciFi flick where a drum of waste falls off of the truck going around winding roads into a local lake. The insects in the water become super spider food that is collected and used by an aging exotic spider raiser. He is in turned bitten on the back of his neck by what I would 99.99% sware was an A.avicularia. It most definitely had the pink toes and for such a low budget film they surely did not spend much on that peticular T.

BTW, the aging spider raiser also played the character Cain on one of the RoboCop flicks which I believe was RoboCop2.

BinarySpider2

 

[David Burns]

Beautiful spider but no "Holy Grail."

There are several nice Pokies and metalica are one of them.

There should be a couple of hundred P.metalica for sale in N.America this year. Got yours yet?

 

[P. Novak]

I think that while the metalica is obviously an attractive looking arachnid I still prefer the Avicularia genus no matter how skewed the individual Avicularia species are in both captive and wild breedings.

Interesting thing is that the Avicularia are a famous arachnid. I did in fact see a FAMOUS Avicularia avicularia on a movie late last night on TV. I am not 100% sure but I believe the movie was called EIGHT LEGGED FREAKS. It was your typical radiactive waste SciFi flick where a drum of waste falls off of the truck going around winding roads into a local lake. The insects in the water become super spider food that is collected and used by an aging exotic spider raiser. He is in turned bitten on the back of his neck by what I would 99.99% sware was an A.avicularia. It most definitely had the pink toes and for such a low budget film they surely did not spend much on that peticular T.

BTW, the aging spider raiser also played the character Cain on one of the RoboCop flicks which I believe was RoboCop2.

BinarySpider2

You are correct, but what the funny thing is, is that the T that escaped the cage wasn't even a Avicularia spp. THey used two different types of tarantulas for that scene.

 

[tacomadiver]

It is one spp. of tarantula that I hope to someday end up with. But, if it came down to the wire and I could only have one, that wouldn't make it onto the short list.