T. blondi vs Chicken Spider

[Gel]

There was a great thread a while back on the Chicken Spider found here.

There were discussions in some of my other web searches, about it possibly dethroning the T. blondi as the the biggest spider.

I found this video. I am seeking some opinions on its contents and comments.

Is this conjecture? Or is the T. blondi still the largest?

Searches indicate that a male T. blondi still holds the record for being the largest.

Any information would be appreciated.

Thank you

 

[Tarac]

I don't have literature to support it and I bet it doesn't exist because Pamphos, while quite large, are nowhere near the stature of a Theraphosa species IME. I have had a number of them in my days, many species, and they are just not that big relatively. They dwarf many other species, sure. But biggest? I have doubts for sure.

Which is "better?" The chicken spider- Pamphos are superb spiders, they beat the pants off any Theraphosa, Lasiodora, *insert other large tarantula genera here* any day of the week. If you are asking because you are weighing your options, go for the chicken spider!

 

[Gel]

Thank you for your response, Tarac.

---------- Post added 01-24-2013 at 11:13 AM ----------

I found this video. Seeking some opinions on its contents and comments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsYo48vDXpY

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

I have nothing to add except that, next time I see them available, I will be picking up a few chicken spiders.

 

[Tarac]

I can't see the video currently (firewall), but I can see the comments and they seem to doubt it as well. I'm fairly confident that it is just an outrageous claim to make the video/subject more dramatic. They are big spiders, but not like a Theraphosa or even Lasiodora. They are also somewhat light in build, leggy but not very husky. It's definitely not the common consensus, which is expressed by the comments on that video. Perhaps when I see the video I can make a better judgment of the "narrator" as far as what credentials that person may have that would allow them to make such a claim. Or perhaps you can characterize the narrator/creator of the film yourself. I'm still pretty sure that Theraphosa and Lasiodora are the two contenders for largest tarantula with Theraphosa being the current top record holder. Also depends on how you define "largest" because there are other spiders that are not tarantulas with larger legspans and that kind of thing.

 

[AbraxasComplex]

My female Chicken Spiders are large and husky. The last molt measured about 8''. As for being bigger than T.blondi so far I doubt that. But my females could keep getting considerably larger as they age/molt.

 

[Londoner]

That video looks like another one of those sensationalist 'documentaries' that was almost certainly filmed on a studio set with a captive T. I know it makes for good TV, but I cringe when I hear that kind of tense soundtrack accompanied by a menacing voiceover. I'm puzzled why the narrator says it's a "close kin of the tarantula". That spider IS a tarantula!

As far as I'm aware, T. blondi is still officially the largest recorded species. Actually, could it be T. stirmi? Has anyone actually seen the picture of the record holder? The reason I ask is because this record was set when they were both considered the same species. Be interesting to find out.

 

[Gel]

That video looks like another one of those sensationalist 'documentaries' that was almost certainly filmed on a studio set with a captive T. I know it makes for good TV, but I cringe when I hear that kind of tense soundtrack accompanied by a menacing voiceover. I'm puzzled why the narrator says it's a "close kin of the tarantula". That spider IS a tarantula!

As far as I'm aware, T. blondi is still officially the largest recorded species. Actually, could it be T. stirmi? Has anyone actually seen the picture of the record holder? The reason I ask is because this record was set when they were both considered the same species. Be interesting to find out.

Thank you.

Yes I thought the same thing. The "close kin to the tarantula" threw up red flags.

The way I figure it, if the T. blondi record holder was actually a T. stirmi, and T. stirmi has the capability of becoming larger, I would imagine there would have been specimens of confirmed T. stirmi presented as the new record holders after all these years of the T. blondi holding the record. In other words, I would imagine if T. stirmi is capable of being larger, there would have been a specimen demonstrating this by now.

That is my humble and often incorrect opinion. :laugh:

 

[Londoner]

Thank you.

Yes I thought the same thing. The "close kin to the tarantula" threw up red flags.

The way I figure it, if the T. blondi record holder was actually a T. strimi, and T. strimi has the capability of becoming larger, I would imagine there would have been specimens of confirmed T. strimi holding the title after all these years.

Well, the record holder was a mature male, so even though it had a large legspan that doesn't necessarily equate to body mass or bulkiness. I think it would be safer to say that the current record holder has the 'largest legspan' and not that it's the 'largest tarantula'. Either way, you can get freakishly large specimens in any species, so as someone stated earlier there probably have been larger tarantulas than the record holder, they just weren't officially recorded. who knows?

 

[Gel]

Well, the record holder was a mature male, so even though it had a large legspan that doesn't necessarily equate to body mass or bulkiness. I think it would be safer to say that the current record holder has the 'largest legspan' and not that it's the 'largest tarantula'. Either way, you can get freakishly large specimens in any species, so as someone stated earlier there probably have been larger tarantulas than the record holder, they just weren't officially recorded. who knows?

I was under the impression that the T. blondi was the largest by mass and the Giant Huntsman was the largest by leg span.

http://wanttoknowit.com/what-is-the-largest-spider-in-the-world/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_huntsman_spider

---------- Post added 01-24-2013 at 03:11 PM ----------

Here is the Guiness World Record link which has information on the the size and weight of the record holder.

http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/10000/largest-spider

 

[Londoner]

I was under the impression that the T. blondi was the largest by mass and the Giant Huntsman was the largest by leg span.

http://wanttoknowit.com/what-is-the-largest-spider-in-the-world/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_huntsman_spider

Sorry, I thought you meant the largest tarantula. I don't actually know if there is an officially recorded 'largest by mass' tarantula, but I'd agree the holder would probably be in the Theraphosa genus.

 

[Gel]

Sorry, I thought you meant the largest tarantula. I don't actually know if there is an officially recorded 'largest by mass' tarantula, but I'd agree the holder would probably be in the Theraphosa genus.

No worries at all.

Yes, it does depend on how one defines "largest" which confuses the matter.

From what I gather the largest spider by mass was or is a T. blondi and the largest by leg span is the Giant Huntsman Spider.

 

[brotony101]

Narrator also pronounces it "polluda". I'm thinking he needs more edjumakatin'. I give it 4 cringes out of 5.

 

[Tarac]

Yes, I agree with the above- the general lack of accuracy in the rest of the dialogue makes me think this is a just an amateur dramatic video meant to impress and not convey real facts.

About T. stirmi being larger possibly- it is quite possible that there is a larger T. stirmi compared to the T. blondi on record. I wonder if the record holder actually is a T. blondi, if anyone has gone back to check this large specimen. T. stirmi was only very very recently distinguished from T. blondi so it is quite conceivable that what was once called T. blondi was actually a stirmi anyway (or apophysis for that matter). In either case, I still believe the largest is one of the Theraphosa species.

Fran (other user here we haven't heard from in a bit) had an 11" molt from a Lasiodora parahybana, which is pretty darn impressive. And that's the molt, so the resulting spider is a little bigger.

Abraxas- how is that communal doing these days?

 

[Gel]

Thank you for your post, Tarac.

Good question, I too wonder if anybody has gone back and confirmed the record holding specimen as being T. blondi.

Until how long ago was T. stirmi and T. blondi considered the same species?

The link below from Guiness World Records states:


"A two year old spider of the same species, bred by Robert Bustard and reared by Brian Burnett of Alyth, Perthshire also had a leg span of 28 cm (11 in) and weighed 170 g (6 oz) in February 1998."
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/10000/largest-spider


The specimen mentioned in the quote above is a different specimen than the one commonly talked about.

If by 1998, T. blondi and T. stirmi were considered a separate species, then that might answer some questions.

 

[Londoner]

It's only been within the last couple of years that they have been classified as separate species.

 

[Tarac]

It's only been within the last couple of years that they have been classified as separate species.

Yes, the description was published in 2010.

http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/sho...ff-amp-Weinmann-Theraphosa-stirmi-new-species!

 

[Gel]

thank you for the links and information.

---------- Post added 01-25-2013 at 11:58 AM ----------



The link mentions T. stirmi being a new description but I can't find mention of it being classified as T. blondi in the past.

Does anybody have any information on this?

I appreciate all the posts.

 

[AbraxasComplex]

Abraxas- how is that communal doing these days?

Nearly all my juveniles (95%) matured out as male except for one. So I now have 3 gravid females ready to pop. The female I paired up a month before the others just started webbing up her burrow entrance with heavy webbing. This behavior usually signals imminent sac development.

 

[Londoner]

The link mentions T. stirmi being a new description but I can't find mention of it being classified as T. blondi in the past.

Does anybody have any information on this?

I appreciate all the posts.

The name Theraphosa stirmi didn't exist as a valid name before the reclassification in 2010. It was considered to be Theraphosa blondi untill a few years back when people began to suspect that they were two separate species. Hobbyists were then advised to use the name Theraphosa sp. "Burgundy" for what is now T. stirmi untill a proper revision was carried out. Finally in 2010 it was confirmed that it was indeed a separate species to T. blondi and T. sp. "burgundy" was reclassified as T. stirmi...

...in a nutshell lol.