T.blondi ( is it truly the largest tarantula?)

[Ungoliant]

What happens with fattening t's up though? Wouldn't the abdomen enlargement affect the total body length?

It seems to affect girth more than length.

 

[EulersK]

What happens with fattening t's up though? Wouldn't the abdomen enlargement affect the total body length?

Perhaps? Not sure, actually. It may, but maybe just not significantly. I mean, it's still more reliable than DLS.

 

[Venom1080]

Perhaps? Not sure, actually. It may, but maybe just not significantly. I mean, it's still more reliable than DLS.

i dont know about that.. i think @BobBarley is spot on about how feeding can make the size vary. i can have skinny 6" spider, and a really fat 5" one, and according to that measurement, the 5" spider is larger than the 6" one. that alone really turns me off from it. at least legspan stays the same.

 

[Anoplogaster]

Hmm..... Ok, so I definitely agree that the final size of a T is based on genetics. People are the same way. When I finally have kids, it will make no difference how much or often I feed them, they will never be as tall as Shaquille O'Neal. They'll get heavier, though

I also agree that DLS is a bit silly, as it varies so much with body proportions. My rufilata is now a 5" DLS, which is the same as my A. avicularia. But really, the rufilata is still a MUCH smaller spider at the moment. She's just made of noodles compared to the avic! I think DLS just allows us to throw out big numbers, which we seem to like as humans.

Eh whatever! The legendary large sizes seem like fish stories to me! But why does it actually matter? Having the largest spider doesn't say anything about you other than the fact that your spider happened to get larger. Doesn't make you a better keeper or anything. It's just a pissing contest

 

[BobBarley]

It seems to affect girth more than length.

Eh, I don't know. Post molt, many t's have a tiny abdomen.

Perhaps? Not sure, actually. It may, but maybe just not significantly. I mean, it's still more reliable than DLS.

i dont know about that.. i think @BobBarley is spot on about how feeding can make the size vary. i can have skinny 6" spider, and a really fat 5" one, and according to that measurement, the 5" spider is larger than the 6" one. that alone really turns me off from it. at least legspan stays the same.

Hm, maybe we should start listing DLS, carapace length + width, and body length.... Or just provide pics of the t next to a ruler.

 

[edesign]

i dont know about that.. i think @BobBarley is spot on about how feeding can make the size vary. i can have skinny 6" spider, and a really fat 5" one, and according to that measurement, the 5" spider is larger than the 6" one. that alone really turns me off from it. at least legspan stays the same.

I thought that the point of using the body length isn't so much to compare to other species (I'm assuming that's what you're comparing, please correct me if I am wrong) but to the same species. The leg length relative to the body length should be pretty consistent within the same sex. It's not nearly as impressive though.

To clue myself in a bit more and to get a jump on Venom's possible reply does leg span relative to body span tend to be fairly consistent across species assuming the same sex? For instance, a 3" BL P. murinus has a similar leg span to a 3" BL G. rosea? I know there is variation but I've never really paid attention to exactly how much variation.

I also agree that DLS is a bit silly, as it varies so much with body proportions. My rufilata is now a 5" DLS, which is the same as my A. avicularia. But really, the rufilata is still a MUCH smaller spider at the moment. She's just made of noodles compared to the avic! I think DLS just allows us to throw out big numbers, which we seem to like as humans.

There's one answer to my question, missed your reply, and describes my female juvie rufilata as well lol.

Eh whatever! The legendary large sizes seem like fish stories to me! But why does it actually matter? Having the largest spider doesn't say anything about you other than the fact that your spider happened to get larger. Doesn't make you a better keeper or anything. It's just a pissing contest

I don't think anyone was looking for bragging rights here. Some people just really like huge spiders. Some people want to know maximum observed sizes for fun or reference. I fall in to both categories. If there are claims of an abnormally large spider of a particular species I want to see photos WITH a ruler or graph paper. Something for an exact measurement.

 

[Ran]

The photo with just the quarter was when the molt was still a bit moist/fresh (you can still see some moisture). The other shot with the 2 bodies is of the 2 adult females at a later date. The photo with the ruler was taken tonite and the molt is very dried and curled in a bit as molts always do. Measure a quarter...they are just under an inch for reference.

 

[edesign]

Good. Lawd. That's a monster!! Huge carapace. Thank you for sharing! Guess I'll go look at my nearly imperceptible 7.5" Lp and let out a disappointing sigh lol

 

[Moakmeister]

As far as size goes, it's a bit like the whole P. imperator vs P. dictator vs H. swammerdami thing. These species all get to be almost the exact same size on average. For the blondi and stirmi, their average sizes are so similar that it's still pretty much safe to say that the blondi is the biggest.

 

[Andrea82]

Bodylength is used for comparing within the species. Like mentioned, a B.vagans and an A.avicularia can have the same DLS, but the bodylength is massively different.
Both ways have their pro's and con's. When only knowing the bodylength and not being very familiar with he species, you have no idea how big the total spider is when ordering, and thus no way of telling what size enclosure to get.
On the other hand, getting an actual exact measurement is easier when measuring the bodylength with some accuracy, since the carapace and abdomen are less able to change than the stance of the legs.
Bodylength is usually measured when the spider is mid cycle, so not post- or pre-molt.

 

[Anoplogaster]

Bodylength is used for comparing within the species. Like mentioned, a B.vagans and an A.avicularia can have the same DLS, but the bodylength is massively different.
Both ways have their pro's and con's. When only knowing the bodylength and not being very familiar with he species, you have no idea how big the total spider is when ordering, and thus no way of telling what size enclosure to get.
On the other hand, getting an actual exact measurement is easier when measuring the bodylength with some accuracy, since the carapace and abdomen are less able to change than the stance of the legs.
Bodylength is usually measured when the spider is mid cycle, so not post- or pre-molt.

Yup.... they can fold up their legs into almost nothing. When I brought my big vittata in for my students last semester, I told them I'd be showing them a spider that's over 7 inches DLS. But when I brought the enclosure in, she was so nervous from the move that she balled up into a pathetic little 3 inch pile for the whole week

Poor girl

 

[Ran]

edesign, you're welcome! In my experience blondi have shorter femurs than stirmi. Most folks have not seen a real adult Theraphosa as they see one that is 8" and think that is an "adult" but it really is a either a subadult or a very large juvenile. As they mature from that size is when they begin to really thicken up and grow slower size wise in length. LP's are incredible! I have an adult female about yours size. The black on their carapaces are special at that age . I believe measuring a T should be done by carapace only as abdomen size is relative to how much it has been fed as a carapace is rigid...legs can differ in size greatly within a species. I have an 8" genic female whose legs are noticeably longer than her sisters.

 

[Venom1080]

I thought that the point of using the body length isn't so much to compare to other species (I'm assuming that's what you're comparing, please correct me if I am wrong) but to the same species. The leg length relative to the body length should be pretty consistent within the same sex. It's not nearly as impressive though.

To clue myself in a bit more and to get a jump on Venom's possible reply does leg span relative to body span tend to be fairly consistent across species assuming the same sex? For instance, a 3" BL P. murinus has a similar leg span to a 3" BL G. rosea? I know there is variation but I've never really paid attention to exactly how much variation.

I'm not sure what you're talking about here..

 

[edesign]

I'm unsure why I mentioned you there either *shrugs*

 

[chanda]

Yup.... they can fold up their legs into almost nothing. When I brought my big vittata in for my students last semester, I told them I'd be showing them a spider that's over 7 inches DLS. But when I brought the enclosure in, she was so nervous from the move that she balled up into a pathetic little 3 inch pile for the whole week

Poor girl

Don't you hate when that happens??? Mine do the same thing when I bring them in to show my students. (Except the P. vittata - he spends pretty much the entire time in his burrow. The kids hardly ever get to see him. And yes, I do mean "burrow" - he built his little dirt curtain at the back of the cage, but then he tunneled underneath it and spends most of the daylight hours underneath the substrate. Doesn't he know the meaning of the word "arboreal"?)

 

[AphonopelmaTX]

Interestingly, in the scientific community, spider size is usually measured by body length (from the end of the carapace to the end of the abdomen, not including legs palps, or spinnerets). The thinking is that this metric is the least dynamic (most reliable), whereas DLS varies considerably depending on the posture of the tarantula.

Being accustomed to this practice (I am not a scientist, just an educated amateur), the first time I gave a tarantula measurement, it was body length, and someone then informed me that DLS was the convention most commonly used among tarantula keepers.

After thinking about this for a minute, I have to change my response to the most accurate way to measure a tarantula. I'm aware that in the scientific community body length is used, but in keeping tarantulas or other spiders and arachnids as pets perhaps leg span needs to stay the standard. Only because one needs to know the leg span in order to provide an appropriate sized container to house it in. I don't know why diagonal leg span is ever used though. Measuring from one side seems to be sufficient. In all other circumstances, body length would be best with a note defining how body length is measured. I could swear that in some tarantula description papers I've read some authors include chelicerae in that measurement and some do not, but don't quote me on that.

 

[Philth]

Later, Tom

 

[Venom1080]

wow... im speechless..

 

[chanda]

That is absolutely spectacular!

 

[cold blood]

Obviously a trick tape measure

That's a big spider my friend!