PDA

View Full Version : another vinegaroon question for alex

krucz36
10-22-2002, 06:38 PM
hey man:
how does one go about sexing a vinegaroon? i have that M. giganteus, and i'd love to know what brand of bug it is.
thanks!
Alex S.
10-22-2002, 08:21 PM
Hey Krucz, whats up. When is comes to Mastigoproctus the males usually have larger or thicker-looking pedipalps compared to body size. The females have smaller pedipalps compared to body size.

Heres some pics from the net to help:

Male:

http://www.utep.edu/museum/desertdiary/archive/arthropods/vinegaroon.jpg

Female (gravid as well):

http://kellynewcomer.com/imagesnews/vinegaroon.jpg

Alex S.
atavuss
10-22-2002, 09:37 PM
once a vinegaroon is mature are they like scorpions and never molt again?
will a vinegaroon regenerate lost appendages after a molt?
I bought a vinegaroon at the IRBA show recently and its abdomen was almost flat.....looked really neglected. thankfully it looks like it will make it as it is plumping up well after eating a few crickets and drinking plenty of water.
Ed
krucz36
10-22-2002, 09:38 PM
well, if that's a foolproof method, i've got a girl. the palps on the male are very impressive!
does that rule apply only to adults? which leads nicely into:
how can you tell if your vinegaroon is an adult?
thanks bud!
Alex S.
10-22-2002, 11:02 PM
Originally posted by atavuss
once a vinegaroon is mature are they like scorpions and never molt again?
will a vinegaroon regenerate lost appendages after a molt?
I bought a vinegaroon at the IRBA show recently and its abdomen was almost flat.....looked really neglected. thankfully it looks like it will make it as it is plumping up well after eating a few crickets and drinking plenty of water.
Ed

Hello, yes, once they hit adult hood they stop molting and they will regenerate limps through molts. Glad to hear you rescued and nourished the uropygid :)

Alex S.
Alex S.
10-22-2002, 11:11 PM
Originally posted by krucz36
well, if that's a foolproof method, i've got a girl. the palps on the male are very impressive!
does that rule apply only to adults? which leads nicely into:
how can you tell if your vinegaroon is an adult?
thanks bud!

Yeah, the pedipalp rule mainly applies to adult specimens as young are very similar and the pedipalps are very hard to tell apart at that age. A simple and the easiest way to tell if a uropygid is an adult is to know the full grown size of the species. In the case of Mastigoproctus giganteus adults are usually 2.5" to 3" in body length (excluding "whip"). So pretty much once a specimen has made it to around this mark and stops molting it is mature. Glad to help Krucz :)

Alex S.
krucz36
10-23-2002, 12:15 AM
"alex: the one-stop shop for uropygid knowledge."
thanks bro!
Wade
10-23-2002, 09:54 AM
In a recent article in Reptiles Mag Art Evans mentions that adult males have a movable spine on the end of the pedipalps, apparently used to push the spermataphore into the female during mating.

I have not been able to discern this feature on any of my 3 adult specimens, but I suppose it's possible they're all female (or all male??). I wish there had been a picure of this structure! Based on pedipalp size, I'd say I have one male and two females. I'm temted to try breeding, but I really want to be sure of the sex. I also have 6 younger ones of various sizes.

Wade
krucz36
10-23-2002, 10:55 AM
does anyone else imagine wade's voice sounding like "fat tony" from the simpsons? damn avatars! thinking of tony saying "discern this feature" is disconcerting.
Wade
10-23-2002, 01:23 PM
My wife has been most vocal on this topic..."What about the pretzel monies? When are you going to do something about the Pretzel monies?"

;P

Fat Tony
krucz36
10-23-2002, 01:26 PM
"lips, louie...advance upon them..."
Wade
10-23-2002, 01:58 PM
Garth-

You crack us so consistantly....up.

:D