It was an unusual week at the JenJen house. Now that the weather in MN is nice it's shipping season again, and the local reptile shops got big shipments in. You can imagine what happened next...


Last Friday this tiny little guy, Hapalopus sp. Columbia "large," who I'd been looking forward to for a while, joined the crew. My pics don't do this species justice!


And here he is enjoying a snack.


Next came this lovely lady. I've been drooling over pictures of Brachypelma albiceps lately, and when I went to pick up the little "pumpkin patch" she was there too. Needless to say she came home with me as well.


Today I needed feeders so back I went, and I noticed this lovely specimen who I didn't see last time. I bought it as a Ceratogyrus bechuanicus, but I think that's the junior synonym for C. darlingi? This hobby, things are always changing!

So that was my week in tarantulas. Not pictured are the three Tapinauchenius violaceus slings (bought two, third one was a stowaway) who arrived from a breeder because they're just so insanely small right now, plus they made nice little burrows for themselves.

are you sure that is a Brachypelma albiceps?

That's what it was labeled as, the store got it from a reliable supplier. The flash also washed out the spider's colors considerably. What does it look like to you?

It looks like not Brachypelma to me. At that size the carapace should be yellow, nothing more, nothing less.
Brachypelma carapace is more round, not so much elongated.

my advice, keep the receipt and wait for a molt.

Thanks Eddy. There was a second spider there labeled B. albiceps that was identical to this one, think I should inform the owner?

Now that I'm looking at photos and comparing I definitely see what you're talking about. The carapace looks much more like Aphonopelma, and if that's the case it could be a long time before it molts based on my experiences!

you could at least contact them and let them know your concern. perhaps inform them you will wait for a molt (can't be that long anymore) and then take further action?

spiders in pet shops are normally kept bone dry. moving them into a moist ( not wet) habitat often results in a quick molt.

Congrats on the new additions! Some mighty pretty critters you came home with!



You are correct. Here's the official entry from The World Spider Catalog:

"In synonymy:
C. bechuanicus Purcell, 1902 = C. darlingi Pocock, 1897 (Gallon, 2008: 238)."

It's kind of hard to tell from the angle of the pic, but does her horn extend upwards, or is it pointing towards the rear?

Jen

The spider certainly does look due for a molt. I'll take your suggestion and increase the humidity and see what happens. I'll give the store a call, too.


Should have known you'd turn up when I posted a baboon. Thanks for the answer! And the horn is definitely pointing towards the rear.

Am I that predictable? Funny thing is I wouldn't be so into the baboons at all if Chris didn't insist on owning every single one of them. Have to admit, though...they have grown on me. Ceratogyrus especially.

Thanks for clarifying on the horn...it kinda looked rear facing to me, but I wasn't positive. If it went straight up I'd have said you got yourself a C. marshalli instead, which would have been one heck of a pet store find indeed! As it is, I'm pretty jealous of the fact that you have a LPS that carries things other than G. rosea and A. avicularia.

Jen

Congrats on your beautiful new kids!

My baby B. albiceps looked similar to that one until it molted several times...which it did monthly. It turned a nice velvety black with reddish brown setae on it's opisthosoma.

Nice looking additions you have yourself JenJen!!!
If you're ever in need of a T sitter for your darlingi feel free to give us a shout

Kev & Deb~~~

Thanks Jamie!


This one's already a solid 2.25 inches. How large was yours when you got it?


Thanks Kev and Deb! I'll keep you guys in mind. See you in Tucson?

Okay, new photo of the not-Brachypelma-albiceps. The colors are a bit truer to life this time.



Any guesses?

Nice spiders but I would agree I don't think you have a Brachypelma Albiceps as I have never had one look like that at that size, but I would punt for Aphonopelma my Anax was the same colour at that size.

Here's a couple of pics of my recently acquired ~1.0" B. albiceps, which don't favor any other Brachypelma sp slings I've had before... Mine sort of look like 8 legged versions of naked mole rats.
New spiders are fun, regardless what they turn out to be. :-) Congrats, Jen!

It does look like an Aphonopelma... though at this point I'm just calling it the Small Brown Tarantula.


Thanks for the pics Joyce. Naked mole rats! You're so right!
New spiders are always fun, I agree. I'm thinking this one's a keeper no matter what it is.

Mine was about .5" when it arrived. It's legs turned a nice velvety black while the carapace was silvery grey. The opisthosoma was black as well with sparse reddish bristles.