spider ID , Vancouver BC

[mitchnast]

A tropical fish in the rocky mountains? That's right up there with care bears!
I have GOT to see the citation!

 

[AbraxasComplex]

A tropical fish in the rocky mountains? That's right up there with care bears!
I have GOT to see the citation!

I second this. I want myself a care bear... but only to kill, stuff, and use as a retro bed pillow.

 

[mitchnast]

yeah, my adolecent dreams of carebears always involved a hatchet.

 

[AbraxasComplex]

yeah, my adolecent dreams of carebears always involved a hatchet.

I always wondered how they would taste. Mmmm, carebear tenderloin.

 

[Toirtis]

A tropical fish in the rocky mountains? That's right up there with care bears!
I have GOT to see the citation!

Well-known fact. An aquarium, or aquaria, were, during the postwar period, dumped into the Cave and Basin drainage marsh in Banff (hot-spring fed, so tropical in temperature year-round). Amongst the species released were angelfish, jewel cichlids, sailfin mollies, and mosquitofish. The angels have not been seen in over 25 years, and are assumed extirpated, but the other three species have flourished, and are readily visible to visitors. Interestingly, despite being an introduced exotic, they are protected by national park law.

 

[jsloan]

i'm with jsloan (as usual) on everything here for sure.

Thanks, Widowman10. There's not much more to say at this point. In this thread, at least, no real evidence has been given which supports the presence of brown recluse spiders in Alberta, and certainly nothing that confirms the collection of specific numbers of specimens at specific locations in the province. That's not to say they might not have been found as transients in some places, but I'd like to see evidence for that before taking it seriously.

I'll keep digging, though, and will ask around. If I find anything I'll be sure to post it (by "anything," I mean verifiable information).

 

[Widowman10]

I'll keep digging, though, and will ask around. If I find anything I'll be sure to post it (by "anything," I mean verifiable information).

sounds good, thanks!

 

[mitchnast]

Well-known fact. An aquarium, or aquaria, were, during the postwar period, dumped into the Cave and Basin drainage marsh in Banff (hot-spring fed, so tropical in temperature year-round). Amongst the species released were angelfish, jewel cichlids, sailfin mollies, and mosquitofish. The angels have not been seen in over 25 years, and are assumed extirpated, but the other three species have flourished, and are readily visible to visitors. Interestingly, despite being an introduced exotic, they are protected by national park law.

Bizzare! I wouldn't have believed you, but I looked it up and apparently based on some level of truth. But in various accounts, the actual species cited as being present vary a fair bit.

 

[Toirtis]

Bizzare! I wouldn't have believed you, but I looked it up and apparently based on some level of truth. But in various accounts, the actual species cited as being present vary a fair bit.

Having sampled there, I can confirm jewel cichlid (Hemichromis bimaculatus), sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna), and the mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis)....we found nothing else, sadly, not even the Banff Springs darter, which has likely been out-competed by the other fish.

 

[loxoscelesfear]

Cannot rule out Loxosceles rufescens- Mediterranean Recluse- which has shown up all over the country. Even within reclusa range one cannot say with certainty that they have a brown recluse because other than the reproductive organs the two species look identical.