Aphonopelma sp. New River Question

I think this is such a beautiful tarantula and would love to own one. I would ideally want one that was at least 2-3in because of the slow growth rate. I've read varying things about obtaining this species- would a spider that size or bigger generally be wild caught? (I don't want a WC)

Are they difficult to breed?

I bought a cb 1.5" 2 years ago. Very laid back, attractive and she's molted once lol. I think she might be 2" now. IMO a must have T.

I have had one for four years now that I purchased from Rob C as an adult. I would agree that they are a must T but then again I say that about them all lol.:biggrin:

You know the saying..... once you buy 1 t, you never go back.

Any pictures of your beauties?

Felix, do you know if yours was wild caught? (If so, have you noticed a behavior difference- more reclusive, etc?)

It's highly likely that most Captive-Bred "new-river" specimens are hybrids, unless you can see the father with your own eyes.. But even then you couldnt tell by looking anyway.

those "new-river" aphonos dont have a species name, and since aphonopelma can hybridize quite easily, there's a good chance your slings could have some eutylenum or hentzi heritage, which are both highly common.

One of the most frustrating things about aphonopelma, is that their genitals dont really differ much, if at all. This makes ID'ing them a total nightmare, and is why species like the "New-River", or "Eutylenum-type" have no designated species name, because so far, nobody can tell. :laughing:

Hello ParryOtter, When I received her she was to my knowledge a mature female and I can only speculate that she was probably wild caught do to her size as I never really questioned Rob on her ( my mistake). She has always been very tolerable of me and has never kicked hair or thrown a threat display. She for the most part stays outside of her hide and only seldom retreats to safety. She is what I call a gentle eater and what I mean is her feeding response is never aggressive as she slowly pulls her prey to her and never pounces.( a lady with manners lol) I really enjoy her and she has been one of my regulars at schools and other educational classes I do for free here in the mountains. With all that said all Ts very from each other as you know and one can be aggressive and another not. I will try and get some photos for you this week as she is a very Beautiful T.

Admittedly I'm not sure if mine is wild caught or captive bred, it's dls is around 4", the store I got it from sells a lot of captive bred slings. Mine stayed out in the open for a few months but has now dug a nice hole under the cork bark hide I gave it. I'm going to say she from here on as it bothers me lol. Anyway, she is a cool little spider and has made a nice big dirt pile in the opening to her little burrow so I can't see in on her as easily. There is a gap where I can see her from the back wall of the tank though; she has been in there for a month now working on her cave slowly. I do need to be careful with her as she gets easily defensive from light movement and she's a hair kicker for sure. She also likes to poop in her water dish as well as move dirt into it.

As far as breeding goes, I wonder if people just catch them because it's easier since they are common in the U.S.?

That's funny, I haven't owned a burrower/digger yet. Once my G. rosea moved quite a bit of sub but seemed to lose interest and went to take a nap. Story of her life.

I've tried to find recent scholarship on classification and such but not much came up. I might email Stan Schultz and see if he knows! I did read something suggesting difficulties breeding because of trying to replicate climate shifts and other conditions, along with the slow growth rate. And like you said, I guess it's just easier to catch one!

Ken has a 3in female right now, unless someone's snatched her up. Veeeery tempted...:coffee:

You could ask the seller if it's cb or wc. A sp new river is a beautiful t. My daughter has had one for a little over 3 years now. She was a young adult then. I think she has molted once, maybe twice. Very gentle and interesting ts.