The Tragic End of True King Baboon Love

Joy

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I'm indebted to Chris Barton (aka the King baboon King) for allowing me to borrow, digitize, and post these photos he took of one of his C. crawshayi matings. He suggested it was a suitable topic for the Joy Springer Show, and I couldn't agree more.

Those unacquainted with Chris may be unaware of his amazing (and AFAIK unprecedented) success in breeding this difficult species: 4 eggsacs and counting. I'd guess most of us US members who have immature C. crawshayi in our collections have them courtesy of his efforts (thanks again, Chris!).

The first photo shows the approach of the male to the female's burrow.

Joy
 
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Joy

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Here the female is responding favorably to the male's attentions. Note the staggering sexual dimorphism of this species; she's easily double his size.

Joy
 
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Joy

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Consummation is achieved . . . .
 
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Grael

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lol quite some pics but what would the title of the show be??:?
 

Joy

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But then things take an ugly turn. She thought it was a dinner date, apparently :(
 
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Joy

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Love's shattered corpse. The female later returned and polished even this off. Since an eggsac was the result, however, at least the poor guy didn't die in vain, as with so many of his brethren.

Joy
 
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Grael

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awwww the poor thing :( well atleast his children with live on and carry on his blood line ^_^
 

Cronoss

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those are some good pics Joy (Chris).
I sure hope my male did his job right.
I can't wait to find out if the female makes an eggsack.
the suspence is killing me.
unfortunately the male became lunch shortly after that.
Bryan
 

krystal

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great pictures!

of course, i'm one of the believers that all eaten tarantulas are the result of the male drumming something stupid to the female before mating--like offering to take her to taco bell for an after-sex grilled stuffed taco or something.
 

deifiler

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surely he would of thought to try and seperate them rather than waitin for the perfect photo position...

nice pics anyway
 

Devildoll

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deifiler, i wouldn't criticize Chris' tactics.

This is part of nature. He knows what he is doing... i've talked to Chris at length and he actually thinks the consumption of the male has something to do w/ succesful mating...

He is the only person in the US that has produced KB babies afterall...
 

Tranz

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Looks like a typical date with Anna Nicole Smith.
 

Mister Internet

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Originally posted by Tranz
Looks like a typical date with Anna Nicole Smith.
I dunno.... she isn't whining nearly enough, and her abdomen's not the size of a tennis ball...
 

Mister Internet

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Originally posted by deifiler
surely he would of thought to try and seperate them rather than waitin for the perfect photo position...

nice pics anyway
Come on, man... seems like a lot of your comments have been unnecessarily negative lately... his credentials were stated early in the thread, there's no need for that... most males are only viable for a short time anyway, so there's a LOT of keepers/breeders that leave the male in to be eaten...
 

Lostkat

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Originally posted by Devildoll
This is part of nature. He knows what he is doing... i've talked to Chris at length and he actually thinks the consumption of the male has something to do w/ succesful mating...
This could have some truth to it. I was reading a paper about Australian redback spider mating behaviour afew weeks ago which really interested me. It's been shown that the males actually offer themselves to the female, and by letting the female consume them, there is a better chance that the male will father all her offspring. She is less likely to mate again if she she consumes her first mate, so that males' paternity is guarenteed, and he is sure of passing his genes on to a future generation. It has also been suggested that he may also serve to provide her with some nutrition beneficial to the production of healthy offspring, however no proof has been found for that.

So basically, it is natural for the female to consume the male, as he offers himself to her, and it provides him with some notable benefits of passing on his genes.

This may or may not apply to tarantulas as well, but seeing as female Ts also have a habit of consuming their mates, it would be interesting to find out.
 

deifiler

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Originally posted by Mister Internet
Come on, man... seems like a lot of your comments have been unnecessarily negative lately... his credentials were stated early in the thread, there's no need for that... most males are only viable for a short time anyway, so there's a LOT of keepers/breeders that leave the male in to be eaten...
ahh sorry, i apologize then.

I just feel a bit against using your pets just for breeding and money or whatever... I'd never purposely let one of mine die... i guess i feel stronger due to recent events with my scorpion in near death situations :S

but yeah, your point of the viable males IS a valid one i do agree with - ive got a male avic that is slowly deteriatin.. eek

sorry anyway :)

EDIT: i dont want myself to get a bad reputation on these boards, as i value almost every post that i read. Its good to have people in the know that can help with problems, give advice or other spiderry goodness aswell, so once again i apologize and hope that i havnt offended anyone past the point of my redemption :D
 
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Mister Internet

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d,

Don't worry, nobody hates you... :) Just keep an open mind and realize that everyone has a different idea of what exactly their T's and other inverts mean to them personally.... to some, they are cute, cuddly pets to be fawned over and babied, to some they are observational specimens that provide fascination and many hours of interest, but completely devoid of emotional attachment, and for some they are truly a financial endeavor... there is nothing worng with any of these views, or any mixture of the three...
 

deifiler

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yeah i guess im a 'type before you think' kind of person, ill change my ways though

whenever i see your pic i think your playin tennis for some reason :p
 

invertepet

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"Apparently she thought it was a dinner date..."

BwaHAHAHAHAHA..! Joy, you have a fine wit. :D

bill
 
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