OMG need species ID! Unknown mygalomorph actually adult female!!!

[MaartenSFS]

I'm sure that some of you remember that I found my first mygalomorphid earlier this week. Some of you even guessed the genus and that it was a juvenile. Well, I had a baseless hunch that it was an adult, which has now been comfirmed. I think that this is exciting because it may turn out to be an undescribed species.. :drool:

Anyways, I returned to the area today and found another specimen with an eggsac!!! I think it is slightly larger, but I haven't made a side-by-side comparison. Here is a [bad] photo:

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/Veldreis%202/DSC02128.jpg

The webs were long, complex tubes, but I don't know how they use them yet. The other one that I caught hasn't made a complete tunnel system yet. Since it was dusktime no habitat shots, sorry. ;)

So, gentlemen, it seems we have quite a canundrum. I'm going to try and look for the cuspules on my other one tomorrow, if I have the heart to dig it out of its new home. I can't look at this one because it is holding the eggsac. :?

[Randolph XX()]

....never disturb females with egg sacs, unless u want to hatch them urself

chances are high that the egg sac would get eaten by the mom

[MaartenSFS]

I found it with the sac and tried to verify if it was the same species. Then I prepared a small round container for it with several centimetres of substrate and created a downwards-sloping burrow for it and spread some pine needles and pieces of pine cone on the surface to simulate where I found it and it immediately took to the hole and since yesterday has put up webbing all over the place and the sac is still looking good. :D

And yes, I plan on hatching it and keeping some of the spiderlings. :cool:

I'll post more photos when the webbing is more prominent and it's out and about.

[MaartenSFS]

This is the new enclosure that I prepared for my adult female with the eggsac last night:

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/Veldreis%202/1-1.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/Veldreis%202/2-1.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/Veldreis%202/3-1.jpg

As you can see, she has blocked herself in.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/Veldreis%202/4-1.jpg

Today I just moved the first one that I found, also probably a female, into its new enclosure and it immediately darted into the hole.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/Veldreis%202/5-1.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/Veldreis%202/6-1.jpg

When I came back it had set up shoppe.

On both enclosures I attached some broken pieces of toothpick to keep the lid SLIGHTLY open on the inside (It closes in a very airtight way).

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/Veldreis%202/7-1.jpg

[MaartenSFS]

Some questions:

1) Should I add a bottletop with water in it to the enclosures? I mist once or twice daily to keep the substrate moist, but not wet. So far, it has worked several weeks for the centipedes and they are feeding and healthy.

2) How long will it take for the eggsac to hatch and what should I do? Can I let them cannibalise a little bit and weed out the weak or release most and keep several. The goal here is to breed them in captivity in the future.

3) How long can I expect the life expectancy to be so that I can plan around their lifecycle. These are fairly small and already adult.

4) Can I raise a colony of isopods to feed them?

Thanks in advance and I'll take some photos when the one without the eggsac has webbed up the place and is ready for feeding. Tomorrow night I'm going out with several mates of mine so keep your fingers crossed for more interesting things. :cool:

[MaartenSFS]

Since my last update the spider has yet again relocated. It seems like they don't like burrows so much. It constructed a tube using web and dirt with an exit at both ends.

I had been putting flies in every day and I thought that they kept escaping. Today when I put in a fly I discovered the grisly truth. The fly got SLIGHTLY entangled in its web and the spider emerged like a bat out of hell, a wicked speed-demon, seized the fly, and dragged it back to its lair as quick as it had come out.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/9.jpg

In this photo you can see the spider and the compound eyes of its prey if you look closely. It really doesn't do it any justice, though.

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/8.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/10.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/11.jpg

In conclusion, although I don't know what species it is yet, I am definitely going to breed these. They are a very cool little mygalomorphid.

The other one is still guarding its eggsac, which has grown a lot. I think it may be another week before it hatches. ;)

[venwu225]

awesome, please keep us updated.

[MaartenSFS]

Will do. ;)

[syndicate]

best luck with your eggsack!looks like a really interesting species you got there!whatever it may be :]

1.i think misting will be fine and if its worked for you this long no need to change it.
2.unsure how long it will take for the eggs to hatch but ive read that some of the trapdoors and other mygals will often keep there young in the burrow with them for a while after hatching and tend to there young.how long this gos on i do not know.it would be an interesting experiment to leave alot of the sac with mom and see if she feeds them.im guessing the spiderlings are gonna be micro to!
3.no idea
4.i dont see why not.also small wingless fruit flys or pinhead crickets may work aswell.

look forward to more photos!keep us posted
thanks

-Chris

Some questions:

1) Should I add a bottletop with water in it to the enclosures? I mist once or twice daily to keep the substrate moist, but not wet. So far, it has worked several weeks for the centipedes and they are feeding and healthy.

2) How long will it take for the eggsac to hatch and what should I do? Can I let them cannibalise a little bit and weed out the weak or release most and keep several. The goal here is to breed them in captivity in the future.

3) How long can I expect the life expectancy to be so that I can plan around their lifecycle. These are fairly small and already adult.

4) Can I raise a colony of isopods to feed them?

Thanks in advance and I'll take some photos when the one without the eggsac has webbed up the place and is ready for feeding. Tomorrow night I'm going out with several mates of mine so keep your fingers crossed for more interesting things. :cool:

[MaartenSFS]

best luck with your eggsack!looks like a really interesting species you got there!whatever it may be :]

1.i think misting will be fine and if its worked for you this long no need to change it.
2.unsure how long it will take for the eggs to hatch but ive read that some of the trapdoors and other mygals will often keep there young in the burrow with them for a while after hatching and tend to there young.how long this gos on i do not know.it would be an interesting experiment to leave alot of the sac with mom and see if she feeds them.im guessing the spiderlings are gonna be micro to!
3.no idea
4.i dont see why not.also small wingless fruit flys or pinhead crickets may work aswell.

look forward to more photos!keep us posted
thanks

-Chris

That's a very interesting point about the burrow. I hope that this is the case, because crickets and fruitlies are unavailable here. I may have to go out and catch crickets to breed. :eek: :wall: I hope that the mother will save me the trouble. The problem with breeding house flies is that they well... fly. Thanks for your insight. I'll keep you posted.

By the way, the spider has now closed off the tube on the other side. It's kind of interesting to watch how it has been constructing every night.

[What]

Maarten, look into getting a roach colony going. That would probably best suit your needs.

[MaartenSFS]

Cockroaches are the perfect size for my centipedes, but this is our first apartment in China that is not infested! :wall:

[venwu225]

Go martin! Let us live vicariously through you! Be sure to post lots more photos, and here is my just for unrelated kicks...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29847562@N00/

[MaartenSFS]

The sac is looking mighty bloated these days! I dare say the time is nigh! :eek:

[MaartenSFS]

This one from Dipluridae.de looks REMARKABLY similar to mine, except for the colouration:
http://www.dipluridae.de/html/Images/Tiere/Euagrus_chisoseus.jpg
For side-by-side comparison mine:
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/Veldreis%202/28.jpg
Especially the spinnerets are identical. Other Diplurids also bear quite a resemblance, though there hasn't been much study on them. What do you think?

[MaartenSFS]

Oke, so I've noticed some interesting behaviour.

1) The spider has sealed off both ends of the tube and when a fly walks through the trigger webs, even 6 or 7 centimetres from the centre of its "burrow" it opens a hole on either side of the tube and flies out, grabs it, drags it back, and begins to close the hole again with its spinnerets - all in a second or two (Depending on how far away the prey was). It's absobloodylutely awesome and especially the way it opens and closes the hole is almost graceful.

2) Any time prey is introduced, day or night, even with frequency, it comes out and pleases. I have shown many friends already and they were all very impressed.

3) It seems to never come out, except to hunt, but somehow manages to web up the whole enclosure. I think it sticks its arse out and just sprays, honestly. This is a "pet hole", but a very satisfying one and easy to take care of. It can also venture quite far out of its hole to attack prey, which means that you get to see it longer, sometimes.

I had a pretty good look at it today and I think that this one has a body length of 1.2-1.5cm, but the other one with the eggsac is a lot bigger than this. We're going out to a nature reserve this weekend so I'll see if I can get my hands on some more and get a good ventral shot.

Question: Do I ever need to destroy its tube and take out dead insects that it has consumed?

[venwu225]

it seems in terms of hygiene you should most likely remove the debris. Look carefully around the cage, judging from the one species of dipluridae I worked with, generally they tend to leave the feeding casts at particular spots on the web. It did not leave feeding casts within the burrow.

Could you post more photos :D??!

and especially of the natural habitat at which you found the animals at??

[MaartenSFS]

Look in the fieldtrips section. I have posted two photo essays titled Yaoshan Excursion 1 and 2. ;)

[MaartenSFS]

So the eggsac hatched and I've got about 30 spiderlings that came out. I separated the mother into another container because she looked quite thin and I herded the spiderlings together and killed a baby cockroach and put it on their web after a day. It looks like they haven't eaten it yet, but they are growing?

Anyways, it gave me an opportunity to finally photograph the ventral side of this species:

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/DSC02383.jpg

I know it's not a clear photo, but any thoughts?

Here is a size reference for the mother:

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/DSC02374.jpg

The other female moulted after I caught it and is larger and more robust than this one.

[MaartenSFS]

Here are some new photos in celebration of my finding out what genus this spider belongs to:

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/DSC02514.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e166/MaartenSFS/DSC02517.jpg

Macrothele species..

A special thanks goes out to jeff h. :worship:

[MaartenSFS]

it seems in terms of hygiene you should most likely remove the debris. Look carefully around the cage, judging from the one species of dipluridae I worked with, generally they tend to leave the feeding casts at particular spots on the web. It did not leave feeding casts within the burrow.

I had to move it last week and I found nothing, no trace of a remnant. I even sifted through its broken tube and carefully looked throughout the enclosure with a magnifying glass.. NOTHING.

[lewisskinner]

Here are some new photos in celebration of my finding out what genus this spider belongs to:

Macrothele species..

A special thanks goes out to jeff h. :worship:

Are you sure? Looks a lot like (and the behaviour sounds a lot like) Sphodros rufipes - and I mean a LOT. In fact, as I was reading about the tube webs, I was going to reply to tell you it's cut through to to catch prey, only you found out yourself (I'm a bit of a late-comer to this thread). Only problem - S. rufipes are only found in the USA.

Hmmm... Maybe it is a Macrothele?

Have you found any similar ones in the vicinity with red legs?

[MaartenSFS]

Are you sure? Looks a lot like (and the behaviour sounds a lot like) Sphodros rufipes - and I mean a LOT. In fact, as I was reading about the tube webs, I was going to reply to tell you it's cut through to to catch prey, only you found out yourself (I'm a bit of a late-comer to this thread). Only problem - S. rufipes are only found in the USA.

Hmmm... Maybe it is a Macrothele?

Have you found any similar ones in the vicinity with red legs?

It doesn't actually cut through the tube and with its new tube that it created after I moved it it hasn't closed it up like the other one. Odd behavious, I know. We haven't found any with red legs, no.

[lewisskinner]

Well, it was a long shot since Sphodros rufipes are a US spider, still!.

The ones with the red legs are male, and the females had black legs, and since you obviously had a female, I wondered if it were possible. Still.

In fact, oddly enough, I found a wiki page on it! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphodros rufipes

[Bastian Drolshagen]

hi,
no Sphodros sp., or any other Atypidae are no possible IDs for that spider...
Judging from the distribution of this species and the elongated spinnerets it can only be Hexathelidae, or Dipluridae.
Cuspules on labium = Hexathelidae (in our case Macrothele sp. --> 4 spinnerets)
No cuspules on labium = Dipluridae

I think it´s a Macrothele sp.

BTW.: What u call "tube" is in fact nothing else but her silkened retreat in which her funnelweb ends...

[MaartenSFS]

Well, it was a long shot since Sphodros rufipes are a US spider, still!.

The ones with the red legs are male, and the females had black legs, and since you obviously had a female, I wondered if it were possible. Still.

In fact, oddly enough, I found a wiki page on it! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphodros rufipes

:rolleyes: Don't worry, many have taken a stab at it. I was so sure it was Dipluridae for a while.. But the taxonomists always win in the end. ;)

[MaartenSFS]

hi,
no Sphodros sp., or any other Atypidae are no possible IDs for that spider...
Judging from the distribution of this species and the elongated spinnerets it can only be Hexathelidae, or Dipluridae.
Cuspules on labium = Hexathelidae (in our case Macrothele sp. --> 4 spinnerets)
No cuspules on labium = Dipluridae

I think it´s a Macrothele sp.

BTW.: What u call "tube" is in fact nothing else but her silkened retreat in which her funnelweb ends...

Thank you. I now have two knowledgeable people that concur. The first several that I found had tubes under rocks, with no funnels, but the one I saw today had a wide funnel-like shelf going under a pine tree (I didn't manage to catch it OR take a photo :evil:). O, well..

[jeff h]

Perhaps this thread should be linked:
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=126347