Talk:Mygalomorphae

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[edit] Photo confusion

The photo posted on this page, titled simply Mygalomorph, is the same photo that is used in the page for the sub-order Araneomorph, titled with the species Sphodros rufines.

That correct, just as a human could be an example of a primate and also of the genus Homo and also as the species sapiens. P0M 23:55, 13 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] ID needed

From the Western Ghats
From the Western Ghats

. If somebody can confirm the identity, this could be used on the page. Shyamal 03:38, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

It's definitely a (beautiful!) tarantula, but as for what kind it is, that could be hard to determine. I got into an argument with somebody about the genus and species of one of my tarantulas and called in the experts. Since I had bought it from a dealer who presumably knew what he was doing, and since my own determination seemed to look right, the evidence was slightly on my side. I think the final answer was something like, "Send me the dead spider and I can tell you for sure." I recently tried to identify the species of a jumping spider. Basically the same thing happened. "When she dies, send the body to me and I'll tell you for sure." Fortunately I was able to get her to hold still for microscopic examination of her genitalia, and that may have settled the issue. But to look at just one photo of a spider could be tricky. Since you (?) took the picture in a certain place you might be lucky and find someone familiar enough with all the spiders that grow around there who would recognize her as the only kind that looks anything like that. I'm a bit puzzled by the very nice photo, however, since she seems entirely out of place on a background of fresh mud. She seems to have recently molted, and my guess would be that she is an arboreal tarantula. But I could be totally wrong. Did she emerge from a flooded burrow? Did somebody dig her out? Even knowing whether she is really arboreal or actually terrestrial (tree dwelling vs. burrow dwelling) could help in making the identification.
The reason I've used the photo that is currently there is that the spider is obligingly displaying a very nice pair of chelicerae and their vertical orientation is pretty clear. The only large tarantula I currently have is so nice that I am sure she will not make a threat display for me. I would willingly elicit a threat display from my old tarantula were she still alive because she would not be likely to actually bite, and even if she did the consequences would not be severe. I would be careful of old world tarantulas, however, because if they do bite some of them can really make you wish they hadn't.
Is there a university within a few hundred km of the place you photographed your spider? That would be the place to look for help. P0M 04:01, 28 April 2006 (UTC)
I put her picture into the article and also in to http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Araneae