Smokey grey dwarf :)

[Peter Roach]

SMOKEY GREY DWARF
Another wonderful common name made up by someone with a vivid imagination. !!!!!
I got 2 of these from my friends shop today and the only name the wholesaler had given him was smokey grey dwarf.
It is very skinny at the moment which makes me think that its WC as importers/wholesalers rarely waste money on food for spiders.
I would think that the two tone pedipalps might be a give away as well as the well defined cervical groove.
Anyone have any idea on the species or even family ?
Thanks Peter

Ps...I know its hard to ID a spider from a photo but give it your best shot

pps ... And yes it was moved off the vermiculite after pics were taken.

First picture is out of focus but shows the colour best

[Mike Conabeer]

Peter, the only remotely scientific name I can find for this species from a dealer's list is Harpictareae sp. which in fairness sounds rather incorrect given that it is listed as a subfamily of Harpactirinae by Richard Gallon in his paper here:-

http://www.baboonspiders.de/files/Gallon.Richard.2002.Pterinochilus.and.Eucratoscelus.Revision.description.pdf

As can be the way with spiders which are shipped in from overseas to wholesalers, the importer doesn't necessarily know the origin or the correct description of the species as they work on information given by their exporters. I was offered spiders from Ghana which were labelled as originally - Tarantula narbonensis, when I challenged this name, I was given another name of Avicularia avicularia! An obvious African species!!! Needless to say I didn't risk importing these unidentified spiders!

Hope this helps.

Mike.

[Mikhail F. Bagaturov]

Peter!

The spider You have is Aphonopelma spp... and no way anybody can provide You with the correct ID on the picture and even the living speciemne without the collection data...
So, just enjoy Your t

[Richard Gallon]

Looks like one of those Tanzanian Barychelidae which is imported amongst baboon spiders. It's not a theraphosid, but does have an attitude!!
Cheers,
Richard

[Colin D Wilson]

I agree with Richard, it looks like a Barychelid to me too.
I think a common name is the "silver brushed (or painted) trapdoor spider" or something like that.

[Phil Rea]

I have to agree with Richard too. I have one of the trapdoors he mentioned and it's a dead ringer for it

[Mikhail F. Bagaturov]

May be or not may be...
The chelicerae are very enlargened but looking the coloration (if it is of some justice at all) doesn't look like Barichelid to me and the spinnerets doesn't look elongated much to me.
Anyway, at least the country or region of origin is needed for any consideration.

PS. Now I see why do You think it's not Theraphosida, though...

[Peter Roach]

Thanks everyone, this at least gives me something to search the internet for.

EDIT ... I hope it grows up to look like this !!!

http://worldwidefauna.com/popup_image.php?pID=322

[James Box]

wow...that's a beautiful spider! looks silver!

[Richard Gallon]

Mikhail. We have an unfair advantage because we've seen them alive, so it's easier to recognise the spider from these photos

Boris Striffler told me he'd identified material of this species as a Pisenor sp. and it certainly looks like a Pisenor sp. I've seen before too.

Cheers,
Richard

[Mikhail F. Bagaturov]

Hi Richard!

Thank You, o.k. I see I'm always flight off... tu-tu... from Russia

P.S. Richard, what unusual can be found (theraphosids) in Morogoro region in Tanzania, if any except the P. murinus of different CF?

[Richard Gallon]

P.S. Richard, what unusual can be found (theraphosids) in Morogoro region in Tanzania, if any except the P. murinus of different CF?

I would guess P. lugardi also occurs there, but it's a poorly researched area so there could be some interesting species; possibly even Ceratogyrus in the southern area!
Richard

[Phil Rea]

Mikhail, the spider I have which is visually similar to the one in the picture certainly does appear to be a Pisenor sp.

I compared mine, as far as I could bearing in mind it's a live spider (or at least it was last time I checked!), with

Dippenaar-Schoeman, A.S. (2002) Baboon and Trapdoor Spiders of Southern Africa : An Identification Manual. Plant Protection Research Institute Handbook No. 13, Agricultural Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa. pp. 27

I know it doesn't strictly cover Tanzania, but it was the most appropriate reference I could come up with at the time

[Peter Roach]

So if i have this right, the spiders that I have are of the Family Barychelidae and at the species level Pisenor ?

The tank label should read ......Pisenor sp. ?

Has anyone kept these before or has any husbandry tips ?

Thanks

[Phil Rea]

So if i have this right, the spiders that I have are of the Family Barychelidae and at the species level Pisenor ?

The tank label should read ......Pisenor sp. ?

Has anyone kept these before or has any husbandry tips ?

Thanks

Pisenor sp. is correct, however, family is Barychelidae, genus is Pisenor, and the species is undetermined, so is written sp.

Mine was labelled Stasimopus sp. when I bought it which isn't even close

Fortunately, the spider came out of the burrow and had a wander about the surface (when the bloke selling it pulled the trapdoor up with his fingers, so that I could have a look - brave or stupid, you decide lol). I could see straight away that it wasn't a Ctenizid.

I keep mine in a tub with fairly deep substrate, in which the spider has made a silk lined burrow with the obligatory hinged trapdoor at the top. I also put some sphagnum moss in there which the spider has incorporated into the lid. It may be worth starting a small burrow yourself, and see if the spider takes the hint and enlarges it

Drop a cricket or a roach in there every so often, and stand back