Top 5 best display T's

[Nemesis]

Originally posted by Steve Nunn


To me, G.rosea and X.intermedius are each just as impossible for me to obtain, so money, rarity or the usual availablity has absolutely nothing to do with it.

[/B]

WHAT???????
Please explain. You can't get G. rosea in Australia???? What's up with this? What else can't you obtain that we have access to? Is there a flip side? ...meaning are there things you can get-a-hold-of that we can't?

Kelly O

 

[Steve Nunn]

Originally posted by Nemesis
WHAT???????
Please explain. You can't get G. rosea in Australia???? What's up with this? What else can't you obtain that we have access to? Is there a flip side? ...meaning are there things you can get-a-hold-of that we can't?

Kelly O

Hi Kelly,
That's right, I don't own a single species anybody on this list keeps. I have a pile of exuvia from overseas specimens and a bunch of preserved material, but that's it. It's illegal to own spiders that aren't native to Australia (I know, the laws suck to be honest, the canebeetle,canetoad, rabbit, fox and other nasty imports saw to that, scared the hell outta the powermongers).

However, I own a bunch that nobody on this list has, all native Australian stuff. All in all there are about 20 theraphosid species native to Australia, 5 of which are actually described. I've found about 5 new species in the last 7 years or so, I'm hoping they'll be described soon. I can keep numerous centipedes, some monsters from the genus Scolopendra(a new species I found that I'll post a pic of soon), we have a vast array of scorpions, including the buthids and the subfamily Urodacinae (some of the nicest and largest scorpions on the planet)among others, an amazing variety of mygales (trapdoors,funnel-webs and tarantulas)in general(families Hexathelidae"funnl-webs",Dipluridae,Nemesiidae,Theraphosidae"tarantulas",Barychelidae"brush-footed trapdoors",Actinopodidae"mouse spiders",Ctenizidae,Migidae,Cyrtaucheniidae and Idiopodae). If you like insects we have the heaviest cockroach on the planet, they're pretty cool, a whole other bunch of insects too (including the hurcules moth), no need to mention the herps in Oz, or the birds if you like that sort of thing and the list goes on and on....

In a way it's a shame I can't keep what you all can, but it does balance out when you take into consideration what I can keep

I can import tarantulas, but I have to spend about $25000 to build the enclosure that will keep the powermongers happy and that's out of my range at present. One day.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Ephesians]

Hey Steve, I'm really interested in the Urodacinae family you spoke of and the world's heaviest cockroaches. PM me if you end up posting anything about them in the insects or scorps forum. I'd like to know some more about them. Sounds like you have yourself busy down there...who does the taxonomy? Do you provide to a field head of scholars or do you do the taxonomy yourself and then have it legally established?

In Him
Marcus

 

[Steve Nunn]

Originally posted by Ephesians
..who does the taxonomy? Do you provide to a field head of scholars or do you do the taxonomy yourself and then have it legally established?

Funny you should ask. About a year and a half ago I had organised to do a total revision of Australia's Theraphosidae with Andrew Smith (BTS Chairman, Rick West put me in contact with him ), he was going to cover the taxonomy while I would cover ecology and behaviour. We had over seven new secies we were going to describe in the revision. I contacted Dr Robert Raven about the revision (thought it would be good to get the best mygalomorph systematics scientist on the globe involved) who offered to help at first. Later in the piece he informed me about the work he wished to undertake (guess what, a revision of Australian theraphosid material). This created massive headaches for myself and Andrew, as Raven informed us that Andrew and myself would be denied access to the Qld Museum specimen library (Qld is where 95% of Ausralian theraphosids inhabit, Raven is the arachnid curator), among other issues Raven mentioned (I won't go into them here). Raven has been promising to do the revision for over 20 years now, still isn't done. Basically, we were stopped dead in our tracks. Nevermind, I'm not bitter. I know Raven would do a far better job then anyone on the planet and I'm now sending all rellevant material to him. I don't know how far he has come with the work, but I know Martha Yanez will also be involved, which is a bonus really because Martha is a great taxonomist.

I'm only an enthusiast at best and don't feel qualified enough to do the taxonomic work that is needed down here(my understanding of cladistics and systematics isn't really up to scratch). I'm also sending specimens to Volker who I hope will shed some light on questions that have been raised regarding the genera in Oz.

Who knows what will happen from here.........

Cheers,
Steve

P.S. You can PM me if you like now, I cleared out my inbox, there's enough room

 

[caligulathegod]

Are Austrailian spiders marsupial? ;P

 

[Steve Nunn]

Originally posted by caligulathegod
Are Austrailian spiders marsupial? ;P

Only the ones with pouches and duckbills.

 

[SkyeSpider]

"Display" is the key word here. You want ones that are pretty, and you can see. Here's my picks:

*B. smithi / Mexican red knee (the obvious)

*G. pulchra / Brazillian black (pet-rock-ish, but always out in the open, and BEAUTIFUL coloration)

*L. parahybana / Brazillian salmon pink birdeater (large, active, and doesn't hide too much)

*P. nigricolor (large, VERY active, and always where you can see it)

I'm sorry, but I can't think of any others, at least that I like I would say Avicularia sp (my favs), or Theraphosia sp, but you don't get to see either too often. I'd also recomend AGAINST pokie's if you want something to see.

-Bryan

 

[Henry Kane]

As far as display T's...in the sense that they are usually visible for people to marvel at, anything from the genus Pamphobeteus. They get huge, most sp in their genus have fantastic coloration and they have attitude to boot.
For the same reasons, any sp. of the genus Xenesthis, Lasiodora, Megaphobema (also for their defensive "death spin") and Gramostola, (which generally lack the attitude) particularly aureostriata and pulchra.
This list doesn't represent my particularly favorite T's, but what I think are some of the best display T's.

Atrax

 

[Immortal_sin]

I will only list the ones I have, but I'm certain there are others that are great that I don't have:

Lasiodora parahybana~ always out and visible, gets to a very large size, and nicer looking than T blondi (oops, did I just say that?!)

Acanthroscurria geniculata ~ another large terrestrial that stays visible, and looking nice

Brachypelma smithi ~ there is a reason it's called a pet rock LOL. Mine sits in the same position for what seems days at a time...doing nothing but looking gorgeous!

Avicularia versicolor ~ I know, I know....the tube web thingy...but NONE of mine (5 of them) are in more than out. Mine are active during the day, and not shy about being seen. The larger they are, the more 'out' they are

Chromatopelma cyaneopubescens ~ again, there is a bit of controversy about whether they are out or not. All I can say is that both my females are out and about most of the time, unless they are in premolt.

 

[minax]

All of em!!

 

[minax]

O.K., seriously, I think they all are interesting with the right set-up. But to narrow it down: B. smithi,emilia.
L. cristatus, the most beautiful of the skeleton striped T's in my opinion, and they are always out and voracious feeders. Pamphobeteus are also a great display; I have a sub-adult female, about 6", and she is like a dog or something, always coming right up to the edge of the cage when she knows I have food! If a non T person saw this they would freak! I have only had her 4 mon., but she is truly a very prized and trusted "pet". She catches food like a baseball catcher, " yea ,thats it dude, more food"! I can't wait to have her long term and we will be more familiar with each other.
T.Blondi, yea I know, not the most brightly marked, but impressive in it's size and subtle beauty, and mine are always out. P. Cambridgei, enough said!
Avicularia, even the A. Avicularia, are very stunning displays, if they stay out.
C.Fasciatum, ditto.
And the Poecilotheria's as well, if they are visible.