- Joined
- Sep 10, 2003
- Messages
- 166
In light of the interest people have shown in my comments about my project, I decided to start a new thread. As some of you already know, I am waiting for a group of Curlyhair slings to get large enough to sex so that I can separate out some individuals to officially begin the project. That said, I am going to further state that I am not trying to single-handedly tackle this issue. I would welcome news from others that they plan to perform this experiment as well... with different species. This way, any variations that might occur in the experiment from species to species can be documented, and notes can be made that individual discoveries might not be the rule for other species. In addition, we all could share our information and make this project have a much greater impact on our hobby than I could alone. Martin H gave me the idea when he suggested that I try the experiment with Holothele incei. I looked into it, but right now, I just can't afford to add them to my collection because they are a bit more expensive here in the US and I noticed that he lives in Europe. Rick West made a good point when he said that behavioral data that we submit might not be entirely correct for our species wild counterparts. Unless we travel to their home countries and observe them in their natural homes, we will never know for sure. What we can know, however, is how spider genetics works, and we can show our critics (Mr. West not included) that the tarantula hobby is good for something other than indulging people in yet another pet animal. Since most of the research community is involved in discovering the nature of venoms and the overall taxonification of the animals we love so much, let's help them out and give them some reliable data they can put in the books!