Aphonopelma sp. Roswell pic anyone??

[gvfarns]

Originally Posted by AzJohn

Why should he be afraid to say what he thinks? When someone states an opinion others should feel that they can disagree with it no matter who stated the opinion. Last time I checked, that was what made academic conversation possible. Granted I might have used a different tone in dissagreeing with anyone, but Josh made a very valid point. He shouldn't have to watch what he says to anyone. Plus Josh really know his stuff when it caomes to Aphonopelma of the southwest.

Yeah Josh's point was perfectly valid and there was nothing wrong with making it. It was the second comment about how Stan (or Marguerite) doesn't know much about native tarantulas that was funny. Even if pikaia is totally wrong on this point (they are not infaliable) they have plenty of evidence that they do, in fact, know something about native T's, having dedicated a sizeable portion of their life to the hobby.

It's like telling Rick West he clearly has a lot to learn about spiders because he said something goofy in a forum.

[AzJohn]

Originally Posted by Moltar

Sheeyoot, anybody who wants can say whatever they want, that's the nature of forums. Just be prepared to look silly when you run off at the mouth and tell the author of TKG he doesn't know anything about native tarantula species. It's like telling Martin Scorsese to go back to school so he can learn to make films.

LOL isn't that why half the people come on here.

John

[PSYS]

I love Aphonopelmas!

[josh_r]

Originally Posted by gvfarns

Haha. That was kind of a funny thing to say, considering who you said it to. Just goes to show you have to be careful making judgments on internet forums.

i know exactly who i said it to. im no noob. it doesnt matter who said it. quite frankly, i didnt like any of his books either. nothing against stan, just a statement like that is far from the truth. aphonopelma are very variable. im not saying stan is stupid, but if he is such the expert, he wouldnt have made such a statement.

[josh_r]

Originally Posted by WelshTan

Do you ever look beyond the content of individuals posts to their individual signatures? I think you will feel rather foolish when you realize who you have just slated.

lol!!! you guys think im an idiot or something. i knew who i made the comment to. look, if stan know so much about aphonopelma, then he would know better than to say something like that. i see it 2 ways.... he either just lacks knowledge with the various aphonopelma species out there or he was just being lazy and lumped them into one single generalistic descripion. there arent very many true brown aphonopelma. much of the brown color is staining from the native soil. most moult out with rich dark grays and blacks or with rick blonde and orange colors. any browns taht are true on a spider are usually a rich dark chocolate brown on the femur and the base color of the abdomen. the rest of the spider is some other color. i have found some aphonopelma that rival many species in color. i once found a species that moults out JET black and has FIRE red hairs on the abdomen and the legs were covered in long curly INTENSLY rose pink setae. it was much more rose pink than any rose hair. was quite a stunning spider. i have never seen anything quite like it. i have many more examples but that is too much typing. most people that are into aphonopelma dont go out and look for them avidly and have not traveled all over their range to see the variety out there. i have and i know a few others who have as well. they would highly disagree with stans statement as well. but what do i know.... ive never wrote a book. i must not be smart.


oh yeah..... i have ZERO respect for rick west. i have my reasons and i am not blinded by is 'all mighty' reputation.

[mickey66]

Originally Posted by josh_r

this statement is sooooooooo far from the truth. aphonopelma are very variable between species and range..... even the same species from different localities can look very different. this statement just tells me you know very little about our native tarantulas.

+1 This Man knows his stuff....Do a search read his posts on Aphonopelma sp's in the USA.

[Pikaia]

Sports Fans -

I seldom respond to discussions like this because it seldom does any real good, but I feel compelled to do so here if for no other reason than to still the waters a little.

First, Josh has a valid opinion and is completely within his rights to voice it here. Better yet, he has good examples to back those opinions up. Score a big one for Josh!

I should perhaps have limited my comments to North American Aphonopelma, but I didn't. Why? Because, as I stated a little farther on, the time was very late. If you look at the posting time, it was 12:34 AM and I had just spent a rather stressful day on another problem. And, that was after I had driven from Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Lapeer, Michigan the day before. Chalk that gaff up to mental exhaustion.

Having said that, I have to ask how many Aphonopelma are iridescent blue? Iridescent green? Fluorescent pink? A few species display reds or oranges, but they're distinctly in the minority. And, many do come in black or near black. But, in fact, the majority of Aphonopelma come in some shade of brown. As do the Theraphosa, Hysterocrates, and many other genera. (Check out the photos at http://www.birdspiders.com/gallery/g...1&sort=#photos to verify this.) And, compared to many other genera (e.g., Poecilotheria, Brachypelma, even the Grammostola) they really are rather plain, brown spiders.

And, that's my opinion. Josh has his and I have mine. And, we're still good friends in spite of it. (I hope!)

Now, almost all of you have missed the point entirely. The point is not whether all Aphonopelma are fluorescent, day-glow, whatever color. The point is what do they look like. A lot of you missed the single telling response: http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/show...4&postcount=11. And, voila! It really is a plain, brown spider!

And lastly, I draw your attention to the last few sentences, reproduced below.

Originally Posted by Pikaia

... (Sorry. It's getting very late, and I'm getting silly. I'll go to bed now. Say "Goodnight, Gracie." George Burns

"Goodnight Gracie." Gracie Allen) (See http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...=0 CCQQ9QEwCQ)

When I start doing stuff like that you should all know it's time Schultz went to bed!

[Nerri1029]

We all bring our own opinions, areas of expertise ( real or exaggerated ) and experiences.
With all this also comes biases.

As this thread has shown, everyone has a degree of all the above.

If we:
- understand that Mr. Shultz's post was made during a state of tiredness and admittedly
- we must also understand that Josh's statement was made with his obvious appreciation/bias toward the Aphonopelma genus.

IF they wish to disagree civilly then all the better.

I aim the next statement at those who slammed Josh.

Respect to Mr. Shultz's time and efforts in the hobby as well as Josh's apparent experience with this genus.

I'd rather listen to an informed exchange between the two of them, than to dismiss one side of the argument simply because of publishing a book.

^^^^^

I look forward to more Aphonopelma information in the next T book I read.

be it written by Stan or by Josh

[BrerttG]

Josh needs to write a book...Nuff said....Just the info he has shared with me through conversations and PM's has made the short time I have been involved in this hobby SO much more enjoyable.

[josh_r]

hahahaha! i dont need to write a book. i suck at writing. stan has a good point. most aphonopelma are not flashy spiders. there are a few species with nice irridescent colors. but irridescence is only a small part of it. how many species around the world have irridescence?? more dont than do. once again, in the end, i do not believe they are just plain brown spiders. i have seen enough aphonopelma and kept most of them to know better. most are blacks and deep grays with red or orange highlights. then there are all the blond species. they are deep chocolate brown abdomen and femur with blond carapace and legs. this is not a plain brown spider. they also have nice orange hairs on the abdomen. some blond species even have irridescent rose pink setae covering the legs entirely. then there are the blond species that arent really blond, but rather BRIGHT pumpkin orange! very stunning spiders. one particular species in arizona rivals bicoloratum in intensity of the orange. there are dwarfs that are deep smokey gray with tan/brown highlights and blond highlights on the legs. there are other dwarfs that are jet black. one dwarf looks like a TINY chalcodes. there are then the species that are rich olive green on the carapace and a smokey gray base color with olive green highlights on the legs. to top it off, they are covered in BRIGHT red/orange hairs. new mexico has a dwarf that looks like a super fuzzy hentzi with an irridescent bright green carapace and fire red hairs all over the body and legs. i could go on and on with all the different species i have seen. there are more species with subtle but very bright colors than one would think. one also has to take into consideration the texture of the hair. some aphonopelma are SUPER FUZZY fluffballs. others are not very hairy but rather look as if they are covered in fine crushed velvet. very clean looking. there are many subtlties in the aphonopelma genus and all one has to do to see it is simply open their eyes and take a look. one problem is when most aphonopelma are found, they are stained by the native soil thus hiding their true colors. when they moult out, they then reveal their true colors. many are super pretty and far from brown.

-josh

[josh_r]

oh stan, if you ever decide to write a book on aphonopelma, i would be more than happy to help out. whether it be information or providing species for pictures or whatever. would be pretty fun actually.

-josh

[mickey66]

Josh_r......

Won't let you off that easy....Hire a Ghost Writer to help you do the Book....you can find them at any University. YOU need to do this in the opinion of myself and many others....JMHO

[WelshTan]

Stan aka pikaia... sioux falls... south dakota? wow i am sooo jealous ... i am trying to trace my ancestry as my grand mother and great grandmother were sioux indian ... cherokee tribe i am to believe .... so wish i could get there ....

[mickey66]

Originally Posted by skippy

so, do you have a pic or a description josh? i'm curious as well as to what this sp looks like.

Here is a photo of Aphonopelma sp "Flagstaff Orange" a stunning Tarantula.....here is the link...http://i659.photobucket.com/albums/u...ffOrange-1.jpg

[Pikaia]

Originally Posted by BrerttG

Josh needs to write a book...Nuff said...

Amen!

Originally Posted by josh_r

oh stan, if you ever decide to write a book on aphonopelma, i would be more than happy to help out. whether it be information or providing species for pictures or whatever. would be pretty fun actually.

-josh

Sorry. I have my hands full with TKG. But, if you ever decide to give it a whack, get back to me. I'm good at moral support. Even fairly good at proofreading.

Originally Posted by mickey66

Josh_r......

Won't let you off that easy....Hire a Ghost Writer to help you do the Book....you can find them at any University. YOU need to do this in the opinion of myself and many others....JMHO

But, they're expensive and the royalties from most tarantula books barely cover the cost of the crickets.

In TKG2 we included a chapter entitled "Publish! Publish! Publish!" Though we had to drop it from TKG3 for lack of space, the principle still stands.

The TKG series has concentrated on general tarantula care with an emphasis on the newbie but enough advanced material to keep most enthusiasts interested for at least a while. But, there aren't enough books available on specific genera or groups of tarantulas. And the few books that are available aren't very widely available or well advertised.

Lastly, on several occasions I have opined that one of the things that the hobby needs most right now is a Tarantula Breeder's Guide.

Any takers? Many of you who read this certainly have the knowledge and experience with tarantulas to write such books even though you may not know anything about publishing them. Do you need help? If you're really serious, maybe some of us who have had some experience publishing can lend a hand.

Any takers?