Is this "Augacephalus cf. breyeri"?

[Kate Arbon]

Hi all.

I saw this tarantula while in South Africa in 2004 and later posted pics on Arachnoboards to try and get an ID, but nobody knew what it was (the only guess I got was some kind of Pterinochilus but I very much doubt that), and they said it probably wasn't in the hobby.

I've just been to the spider shop's website and seen a species called Augacephalus cf. breyeri which instantly reminded me of this wild T. So here are the photos I took at the time, I was wondering if someone in the know could confirm the ID? Just for my curiosity.

Sorry for the handling pictures, I know it's against BTS rules but they are the only pics I have. We handled it under the instruction of a South African gamekeeper so at the time figured it was ok. This was before I had any of my own Ts and knowing what I do now I wouldn't try and pick up a wild tarantula again.

If the pictures aren't allowed then I apologise and any mods, feel free to remove them.

Moderators note:
Thank you for the explanation Kate,
The BTS has a non-handling policy and does not encourage the handling of tarantulas, for the safety of the tarantula and the *owner. We also understand that people have different opinions on this subject and from time to time handling may be necessary and /or accidental. However rule 10 of this forum states.

"(10) Photographs and gallery images; please refrain from posting images of handling this only encourages such activities and there a lot of younger patrons on this forum that may influenced by such images and may attempt handling unnecessarily and as a result injure the tarantula or themselves."

These images, although breaking rule 10, were taken in situ and posted to ascertain species.
Although the handling is intentional, the images are the only one’s available for inspection and therefore they shall remain (Allowing administration the final decision).





And this pic I just thought was really cute, lol. I would be tempted to get the species from the spider shop website because it's so beautiful, but as this pic suggests I think you could end up with a 'pet hole'

[Richard Gallon]

Hi Kate,
I'm presuming you took this photo in either Mpumalanga or Limpopo Province? Kruger NP by any chance?

The species you have photographed is Augacephalus junodi, a very common theraphosid in northern areas of RSA.

Although you may occasionally see people (particularly in Germany) advertising junodi for sale, virtually all of these are "Augacephalus sp. Mozambique", a species which is more closely related to Augacephalus breyeri (and which may yet turn out to be that species. I need to study more males to assess the variation within the breyeri group before a decision can be made).

Hope that helps,
Richard

[Kate Arbon]

Hi Richard. Thanks for the info!

I'm curious what the distinguishing characteristics are that tell you this is A. junodi instead of A. breyeri. Is it just that A. breyeri aren't found in RSA or is there something in the appearance? When I compare this spider to the A. breyeri picture on the spider shop's website (here) they look incredibly similar. I don't mean to second-guess you of course as I'm sure you know what you're talking about. Just curious what the differences are.

This pic was taken in Edeni game reserve, about 45 mins drive west of the Northern part of Kruger, which yes I think is in the Limpopo province. I spent 5 weeks there in my gap year doing conservation research, and this girl was found in the back garden.

Coincidentally enough I've just found a post on A'boards from two days ago by someone in Pretoria, about a breeding attempt with this species. So maybe in time it will be more common to see them in the hobby. Although I have a bit of an aversion to burrowing species, I think I'd quite like to have one of these one day, as a nice reminder of my time in Africa

[Eduard Johan Hijmensen]

if you are looking for a Augacephalus sp. then this thread will be interesting for you too:

http://www.the-t-store.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=11898

[Richard Gallon]

Hi Kate,
If you look at your photographs the spider has a deep fovea and the carapace profile is also consistent with junodi (breyeri fovea are shallow and the carapace profile is usually steped). The underside of the front femora also have extremely dense brushes of setae which you can't see through (a junodi feature), in breyeri these setae are more sparse and you can see daylight through them.

Augacephalus breyeri and junodi both occur in the Kruger NP. There are distribution maps and other details in this article:

Gallon, R. C. 2002. Revision of the African genera Pterinochilus and Eucratoscelus (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Harpactirinae) with description of two new genera. Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society, 12 (5): 201–232.

And this article may be of interest too:
Paulsen, M. 1998. Pterinochilus junodi spiderling becomes a mature male. Journal of the British Tarantula Society, 14 (1): 15–18, 20–22.

Hope that helps,
Richard

[Kate Arbon]

Wow. I have to say I'm impressed you can spot such small differences, they look identical to me. But I guess that's what you do Thanks for the articles and all the info.

[Lee Ardern]

Recentely imported from Mozambique.

Lee