largest african tarantula species?

dopamine

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So i'm reading up alot on C. crawshayi and frequently see it being called the "second largest tarantula in africa". So i was just wondering if anyone knew what the first was. I know the crawshayi reaches 9 inches in legspan and haven't heard of any other AFRICAN species exeeding this. I've searched google and nothing but b.s. come up. Anyone know?:eek:
 

JimM

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Hysterocrates species may get larger. I'm not sure nowadays of H. hercules is even valid, but those supposedly get larger than ederi or gigas.
 

dopamine

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I heard kind of the same thing about H. hercules, that it was a lost species or something? I am aware of Hysterocrates being pretty large but never read anywere about it being larger than a King baboon. Thanks for the info.
 

JimM

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I'm not sure who ( if anyone) has a really solid handle on the genus. I know that the pic I have of a supposed H. hercules in an older book is of a spider with a very wide cephalothorax, much broader in relation to the abdomen than H. ederi, gigas, crassiseps, etc.
 

robd

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I have googled to find the other T that is classified under Citharischius, but undoubtedly is not in the hobby. There really is not much on it. I think I remember reading something about it being reclassified as something else. It was known as Citharischius stridulantissimus, Pocock 1905.
 

JC

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Yeah, they are referring to H. hercules as the "most largest African spider."
 

dopamine

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So i'm finding different answers all over the web. Most of the places that say C. crawshayi is the second largest in africa don't say what the first largest is, and some say it's the largest african species, but then go on to say that A. avics are suitable for colonies:rolleyes:
who knows i guess.
 

Mack&Cass

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It's the internet. Anyone can write whatever they want, true or not. That's why I like books.

I think in Marshall's book it says that Citharischius and Hysterocrates are the largest (in terms of bulk) of the old world tarantulas (there are some very large Aussie species as well). I could be wrong, I'll check the book when I go upstairs.

EDIT: Okay I looked, and it says that both the Citharischius and Hysterocrates are among the largest African tarantulas, although they don't compare to some of the NW giants. There's no sort of ranking. I think it's fair to say that both Citharischius and Hysterocrates are the largest (once again, in terms of bulk) of the African Ts.

Cass
 
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dopamine

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Thanks!:) I have the second edition of The Tarantula Keepers Guide, but it dosen't go into specific species.:mad:
 

Zoltan

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I have googled to find the other T that is classified under Citharischius, but undoubtedly is not in the hobby. There really is not much on it. I think I remember reading something about it being reclassified as something else. It was known as Citharischius stridulantissimus, Pocock 1905.
Long version. Pocock didn't describe any theraphosid species in 1905. In fact, in 1905 he was already working at the London Zoo. What Pocock did describe was the genus and species Citharischius crawshayi in 1900. Citharischius stridulantissimus was described by Embrik Strand in 1907 as Monocentropella stridulantissima estabilishing a new genus named Monocentropella. In 1985, Robert Raven in his work on the Mygalomorphae including Theraphosidae synonymised Monocentropella with Citharischius because he was unable to locate the holotype of Monocentropella stridulantissima and based on Strand's description, he thought that there is no reason to treat these species as separate on a generic level (i.e. no reason for them to be in different genera).

Short version. Monocentropella Strand, 1907 = Citharischius Pocock, 1900 (Raven, 1985a: 156)
Monocentropella stridulantissima Strand, 1907 >>> Citharischius stridulantissimus (Strand, 1907) (Raven, 1985a: 156)

Also, click here.
 

dopamine

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So it's basically the Hysterocrates Hercules but it dosen't exist anymore so the King baboon is the winner:D:rolleyes:
yay.
 

robd

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Long version. Pocock didn't describe any theraphosid species in 1905. In fact, in 1905 he was already working at the London Zoo. What Pocock did describe was the genus and species Citharischius crawshayi in 1900. Citharischius stridulantissimus was described by Embrik Strand in 1907 as Monocentropella stridulantissima estabilishing a new genus named Monocentropella. In 1985, Robert Raven in his work on the Mygalomorphae including Theraphosidae synonymised Monocentropella with Citharischius because he was unable to locate the holotype of Monocentropella stridulantissima and based on Strand's description, he thought that there is no reason to treat these species as separate on a generic level (i.e. no reason for them to be in different genera).

Short version. Monocentropella Strand, 1907 = Citharischius Pocock, 1900 (Raven, 1985a: 156)
Monocentropella stridulantissima Strand, 1907 >>> Citharischius stridulantissimus (Strand, 1907) (Raven, 1985a: 156)

Also, click here.
Touche. I must have read that wrong. Sorry.
 

Buckwheat

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Hysterocrates Hercules is or, could be something that exists. There is, according to West a type specimen in England. The problem is, it is so old that no one more than likely even knows where that is in all their collections or the hobby would have heard about it.

Having said that, West does show a picture of Hysterocrates Hercules on his website "http://www.birdspiders.com" that i had not seen before. You might try contacting him through his sight. He is actually very good about returning emails. Why not get whatever facts there might be on the subject from someone that would know more than anyone else these days. At least on this chunk of land.

Just a thought.

*POOF*
 

JimM

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So it's basically the Hysterocrates Hercules but it dosen't exist anymore so the King baboon is the winner:D:rolleyes:
yay.
Like I said the pic I have looks different (superficially anyway) than crassiseps, ederi, gigas etc. Notably the much wider carapace in proportion to the overall width of the spider. I'd scan it and post it, but don't want to compromise the site with something that could be construed as (or actually is) plagiarism.
 

Ultum4Spiderz

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I know this is a old thread but what is the largest C. crawshayi actually get in captivity? ? These grow very slow, Do Hysterocrates Hercules still exist in European hobby?
Hysterocrates gigas are big also , they seem to have a lot thicker legs then your average NW spiders.
Is Hysterocrates Hercules the biggest T in africa still?
 
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cold blood

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I know this is a old thread but what is the largest C. crawshayi actually get in captivity? ? These grow very slow, Do Hysterocrates Hercules still exist in European hobby?
Hysterocrates gigas are big also , they seem to have a lot thicker legs then your average NW spiders.
Is Hysterocrates Hercules the biggest T in africa still?
C. crawshayi is now a defunct name...its now P. muticus. They can reach 8" and their back legs are freakishly large and thick. Its said that they get the common name "baboon" because those legs are so big and thick that they look like a baboon's finger. They use those big legs to help them with their superb burrowing ability. They have some tough, dry ground to burrow in where they're from.
 

Biollantefan54

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@Cold Blood, I have been wondering this for a while but always forget to ask. Is the leg actually thick or is it the hairs on the leg that are really long and dense?
 

cold blood

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@Cold Blood, I have been wondering this for a while but always forget to ask. Is the leg actually thick or is it the hairs on the leg that are really long and dense?
The legs are really that thick. So thick they almost look out of place on the spider.

You can see how much larger those hind legs are than the other legs.
 

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Biollantefan54

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Yeah, I have seen a ton of pics, I was just wondering if it was just hair or not lol. Their spinnerets look kind of chunky too haha. I want one of them just because of the giant legs, and the brown is really pretty, too bad they take forever to grow!
 

Poec54

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I was just wondering if it was just hair or not... the brown is really pretty, too bad they take forever to grow!
They're not that slow when they're kept warm and fed often. I consider them to be moderate growth. The color is reddish brown, not just brown.
 
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