Pre-hooks on immature male seemanni?

[captmarga]

I have tried several search combinations, and have come up with a partial answer, but not exactly what I am looking for. I just got a seemani off CL. I believe it is a sub-adult male. Leggy, and what I see as a hint of what would become tibial hooks at later molt.

(I will post photos tomorrow or so when I move it out of the cage it is in. It was rescued by the fellow I got it from, it's in too small a KK, on some kind of shredded bark, no hide, etc. I don't have coir or peat here, and I'm not going to disturb it twice. I'll probably pick it up and photo it ventrally tomorrow when I rehome.)

So, the question is, has anyone seen "pre-hooks" on an immature male, that was confirmed on the next molt or two to be a MM? This one does NOT have boxing gloves yet. I have had several MMs, and the hooks are not present...just what I think "might" be a bump where the hooks will be.

If someone has a thread or search tagged, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

Marga

 

[Big_nito]

I have more or less same experience as you do. This is just base on my experience and ive also been trying search for scientific journals about this topic. When my Gbb, coloratovilosus and fasciatum males was one molt away from being a MM, I noticed some small "pre-hooks". Very tiny bulge on the same spot where the tibial hooks came out when they matured. However, I didnt notice it on my A. Moderatum. I dont know if this is genus specific or just a coincidence. Im trying to keep an eye on my other males that are penultimates...

 

[Hobo]

I have kept the exuvia of my MM GBB and have taken a few pictures to compare it to my female's. The male matured in January, the female molted roughly a month later.

Male:

Female:

It looks like there is a small bump on the male's legs, but on closer inspection, it appears to be just a dense tuft of bristles, that are longer on my male than they were on my female (the male is much more "hairy" in general than my female).

What I found interesting is that the ends of the palps on the male's exuvia seem to be more stout and short when compared with the females, even when size is accounted for (the female's molt is a good inch or so larger).

Male:

Female:

..might also be because of the "hairyness" again, or my eyes playing tricks on me, but I see much more of a difference in the palps than the difference I see in the legs.

I'll keep an eye on my other males, and post here again if I can get their maturing molts, or good pics of their legs beforehand.

 

[captmarga]

Great pix and observations, Hobo. I'd compare this little guy with the appearance of the legs on your male as well. His palps are NOT boxing gloves, but are not slender. Even though he did not let me pick him up when moving him, I still get the impression of "male". Matters not to me - if male, I'll find a female and send him off - I do want more seemanis.

Tried for a ventral shot, but not today. Currently he's in the corner of his new KK, of course not liking the move and change and sub. I'll give him some time to settle in, then see about photos again later.

Marga

 

[Big_nito]

Hobo: nice pics!!! Thats the patch of hairs I noticed that I thought was a "pre"hook... Nice observations on the palps. Ill try to check mine too... But again its hard to check it on certain species up close without having a risk of getting bitten. Lol...