Species you'd love to see in the hobby

[DustyD]

Rattlesnake tarantulas and Grammostola concepcion

I think I have seen at least one place offering G . Sp Conception ( slightly different spelling but I am assuming same species) but they are tiny slings, about 1/2 inch or smaller or at least they were in February when I asked. I am thinking they may be a bit bigger now.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Hysterocrates elephantiasis - "Never skip tibia day" baboon https://www.tarantupedia.com/eumenophorinae/hysterocrates/hysterocrates-elephantiasis

Holy leg warmers, Batman!

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

So what were you referring to when you said you said “the real Grammostola pulchra would be nice.”?

This is kind of a long story so bear with me.

Earlier this year, a redescription of Grammostola pulchra was published which included photos of live male and female specimens. Comparing those photos to what is in the pet trade makes it obvious that what we know as G. pulchra is definitely something else. G. pulchra is a medium sized tarantula with obvious white tipped hairs covering the body. What we have in the American hobby is a large velvety black tarantula that can turn brown at various stages between molting.

What we have in the American hobby has been speculated to be G. quiorgai, and unfortunately I think I started that speculation back in 2018 with a post I made here on this site that questioned the identity of what we have in the American hobby as G. pulchra. If it wasn't me, then it was a huge coincidence that after I made that post people started listing G. quirogai on their price lists, and all of a sudden "experts" started showing up all over the internet claiming that they knew how to distinguish them from G. pulchra. I will post the link below so you can read why I called the identity of hobby G. pulchra into question in the first place and the resulting discussion.
<< Link >>

G. quirogai can be distinguished from all other species of Grammostola based on where it is found in Uruguay, sequence of the CO1 gene, and the spination of the male tibial apophysis. Given that the origin of hobby "G. pulchra" is unknown and no one to my knowledge has properly identified them using the morphological characters or a DNA barcode from the published description of G. quirogai, we can't really say what we have in the hobby as G. pulchra is actually G. quirogai. Identifying them is also complicated by the fact the species of the genus Grammostola is understudied and there may very well be multiple species that are large and black that have not been properly described and compared with known species.

So when I said "the real Grammostola pulchra would be nice", I was in a way saying it would be nice to have G. pulchra in the hobby in addition to whatever these large black ones are.

Further Reading

Pittella, R. S., Bassa, P. G., Zefa, E. & Bianchi, F. P. (2023). Using the integrative approach to update a gap of one century: redescription and new distribution records of the South American tarantulas Grammostola pulchra (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Theraphosidae). Zoological Studies 62(5): 1-15.

ZS 2023 Vol. 62-05

Montes de Oca, L., D'Elía, G. & Pérez-Miles, F. (2016). An integrative approach for species delimitation in the spider genus Grammostola (Theraphosidae, Mygalomorphae). Zoologica Scripta 45(3): 322-333.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/zsc.12152

 

[l4nsky]

This is kind of a long story so bear with me.

Earlier this year, a redescription of Grammostola pulchra was published which included photos of live male and female specimens. Comparing those photos to what is in the pet trade makes it obvious that what we know as G. pulchra is definitely something else. G. pulchra is a medium sized tarantula with obvious white tipped hairs covering the body. What we have in the American hobby is a large velvety black tarantula that can turn brown at various stages between molting.

What we have in the American hobby has been speculated to be G. quiorgai, and unfortunately I think I started that speculation back in 2018 with a post I made here on this site that questioned the identity of what we have in the American hobby as G. pulchra. If it wasn't me, then it was a huge coincidence that after I made that post people started listing G. quirogai on their price lists, and all of a sudden "experts" started showing up all over the internet claiming that they knew how to distinguish them from G. pulchra. I will post the link below so you can read why I called the identity of hobby G. pulchra into question in the first place and the resulting discussion.
<< Link >>

G. quirogai can be distinguished from all other species of Grammostola based on where it is found in Uruguay, sequence of the CO1 gene, and the spination of the male tibial apophysis. Given that the origin of hobby "G. pulchra" is unknown and no one to my knowledge has properly identified them using the morphological characters or a DNA barcode from the published description of G. quirogai, we can't really say what we have in the hobby as G. pulchra is actually G. quirogai. Identifying them is also complicated by the fact the species of the genus Grammostola is understudied and there may very well be multiple species that are large and black that have not been properly described and compared with known species.

So when I said "the real Grammostola pulchra would be nice", I was in a way saying it would be nice to have G. pulchra in the hobby in addition to whatever these large black ones are.

Further Reading

Pittella, R. S., Bassa, P. G., Zefa, E. & Bianchi, F. P. (2023). Using the integrative approach to update a gap of one century: redescription and new distribution records of the South American tarantulas Grammostola pulchra (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Theraphosidae). Zoological Studies 62(5): 1-15.

ZS 2023 Vol. 62-05

Montes de Oca, L., D'Elía, G. & Pérez-Miles, F. (2016). An integrative approach for species delimitation in the spider genus Grammostola (Theraphosidae, Mygalomorphae). Zoologica Scripta 45(3): 322-333.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/zsc.12152

@Arachnid Addicted, care to add or link to some photos to go along with @AphonopelmaTX's post? I know you helped me better understand the mess at one point.

 

[DustyD]

@AphonopelmaTX Thanks! I appreciate all the information. I do have a headache though.


On the upside:

There seems to be a growing interest in tarantulas and hopefully it will translate into more research ( I think it has already).

I guess for now, I will have to settle on just appreciating my black tarantulas ( I have 5) for what they are, whatever they are.

oh, please don’t tell me my G. pulchripes are something else.

 

[Scoot]

A wider range of Phormictopus would be nice to see. I'm UK-based and get the impression - though I may be wrong - that greater variety is available in the US.

I'm thinking about the various green types in particular, though the whole genus seems to be a bit of a mess when it comes to nomenclature!

 

[Mike Withrow]

Eucratoscelus pachypus. I'm not sure when they became less and less available. I don't recall ever finding one for sale and it's one tarantula I've sought after to possibly buy.
I would be happy,if not even more so if more of the Asian species could be worked on further but that's not really what this thread is about.

Sorry got off track for a minute.

 

[curtisgiganteus]

I want one of those obligate cave-dwelling Ts....

Working on breeding H benzaa rn

 

[Smotzer]

I'd like to see Phrixotrichus scrofa make a comeback! There were a few available when I first got into the hobby at the end of 2019, but I haven't seen any for quite a while

Im pretty sure I saw them resurface somewhere online recently in the US, but I do not recall where

 

[synthz]

The real Grammostola pulchra would be nice.

Wait I’m not sure I understand this,can you elaborate on what you mean by “real” sorry I’m a little slow aha

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Wait I’m not sure I understand this,can you elaborate on what you mean by “real” sorry I’m a little slow aha

What I meant was that based on the recent redescription of Grammostola pulchra, it is now obvious that the large solid black (sometimes brown) tarantula we have in the pet trade has been and continues to be misidentified as G. pulchra. It is something else, but I don't know what it is.

 

[DustyD]

Wait I’m not sure I understand this,can you elaborate on what you mean by “real” sorry I’m a little slow aha

For a longer explanation look at #43 AphonopelmaTX’s response to my question that mirrors yours.

 

[catboyeuthanasia]

In order of "is this a tarantula:"

1: more Ceratogyrus species, especially Ceratogyrus attonitifer. These guys look so funny!

2: fishing spiders! I know some people in North America collect them, but have an established captive bred population would be really cool. I bet the setup would be nifty as well. Apparently, these guys get really big and live up to 3 years in the wild

3: pycnogonids, aka sea spiders. These things are freaky basal arthropods that mainly prey on corals/anemones. They are fairly easy to get, since a shellfish harvesting license in Canada lets you collect a few. However, I haven't seen anyone who has gotten them to reproduce successfully. There's one species that's a pest in reef tanks, but it is tiny. Larger ones would need a Coldwater tank with a healthy anemone population

4: Mongeperipatus solorzanoi. Velvet worm but huge. Also comes from Costa Rica, so collection is next to impossible (as far as I know)

 

[Mike Withrow]

Good on everything but that worm. Centipedes and such actually makes my hair stand on end don't know why.

Don't get me wrong they are beautiful in their own right but, eight legs is my limit and that's plenty fast and potent enough.

 

[klawfran3]

Bistriopelma lamasi

I dont know if it technically is in the hobby or not..
But i find no trace of them beeing kept or bred in Europe

I've seen a couple people with adult females for sale- a big red flag that they're captured/poached from the wild.

But lord do I want some. I saw that "the spider shoppe" had them before but I've also heard of them engaging in some... sketchy business practices so I steered clear.

 

[IntermittentSygnal]

Good on everything but that worm. Centipedes and such actually makes my hair stand on end don't know why.

Don't get me wrong they are beautiful in their own right but, eight legs is my limit and that's plenty fast and potent enough.

I’m just the opposite here. Not a millipede person myself, but I find that one intriguing.. Go figure. <shrugs>

 

[CladeArthropoda]

I think mites get a bad rep, even among invert/arthropod people. There are many endearing mites that would make great pets.

Holothyrids are large sized predatory mites.

Opilioacarids are very primitive mites that retain large eyes and visible body segmentation.


A lot of larger water mites are also quite endearing creatures.


And who can forget red velvet mites

 

[CrazyOrnithoctonineGuy]

Here's a spider I wish someone would breed for the hobby: Argyroneta aquatica.

I mean, it's the only fully aquatic spider. That by itself makes it stand out.

 

[spiderman336]

Yes. A couple of people have them here.

0.1 Bistriopelma lamasi

• arthurliuyz
• Mar 31, 2023
• 1
• bistriopelma bistriopelma lamasi

How did you keep it as a sling? Damp sub mostly dry I’m assuming?

 

[curtisgiganteus]

How did you keep it as a sling? Damp sub mostly dry I’m assuming?

I keep mine on substrate that’s kept damp on the bottom 1/2. Pack that layer down well though. They are spunky little spiders. They are also montane species so keep em on the cooler side.