New owner!

[Jamie Cachia]

Hey everyone!

just got my first spider a week ago and they are amazing creatures. I have a query about what type of tarantula i have! I bought it from the spider shop, and its the Grammostola sp. "North" Northern Gold (6-7cm) juvenile! I only bought it rather than the traditional rosea because i preferred the colour and from what i have read the Grammostola sp. "North" Northern Gold are slightly more active feeding wise and they are both for novice keepers. The spider i got is completely different in colour, (its grey) from the picture on the website but i thought that as it molts and gets bigger it may would change. However i was doing some research and came across this website

http://www.earthtigers.co.uk/Neil_Little/G.sp.north_.html#3

and that is my spider, not the one on the spider shop website. I then read a previous thread saying on here saying there was a difference between the sp north and northern gold?? I m just confused as to what spider i have as i said earlier i just really liked its colour and although that may sound silly its what caught my eye.

Does anyone know if it will grow into something similar to the 'gold tinged' one on the spidershop website??

thanks in advance guys really appreciated

Jamie

[James Box]

this is a confusing issue, and i've probably got this wrong, but i'm trying to remember what i was told by much more knowledgeable people like Colin Wilson.

some of the confusion may lie in the fact there is a G sp "Northern Gold" and the sp "North" sold by Lee, which has the unfortunate common name of Northern Gold.
the actual G sp "Northern Gold" is a much smaller, uniformly goldish coloured spider, with short setae.
so far as i know, G sp "North" is very similar to G rosea NCF (apparently actually G porteri, but that's a whole other story!), but the carapace is supposedly more gold than pink.
however, i bought a breeding pair, and to my very inexperienced eye, the subadult male looks IDENTICAL (colour wise) to my G rosea NCF, and the large female, though she needs a moult, is showing more of a pale gold colour on her carapace.
is it possible that G sp "North" is a northern variant of G rosea NCF? more knowledgeable people with vague ideas about geography will be able to answer that...as i don't know if G rosea occurs anywhere near G sp North.

the fun thing is that colour is a variable characteristic with spiders, and is not considered a valid taxonomic tool! everything turns brown in the alcohol...and so taxonomists often don't have the benefit of looking at one spider and saying "this is different, as the colour is different."
they look at two brown, aged specimens, and have to work out based on the structure of body parts which species they belong to.
a job i both envy and don't envy all at once!

DNA may simplify things...but i bet it ends up raising more questions than it answers, as per usual! lol

[James Box]

i should add that as far as i know, Lee's only sold Grammostola sp "North", not Grammostola sp "Northern Gold", and i'd go with his judgement on that.
i've seen G sp "Northern Gold" for sale by other dealers, but not him.

[Jamie Cachia]

Hey James,

thanks for that, much appreciated!! So i have a sp north which is similar to the rosea. So is the sp north the spider in the picture that i have linked in??

http://www.thespidershop.co.uk/insect/product_info.php?products_id=1539

I take it that the spider will change as it grows and molts?? Just want to know as if not i ll look into getting the northern gold as well. You said other people sell this species?? You couldnt point me in the right direction please??

thanks again mate

Jamie Cachia

[James Box]

no, as far as i have seen, only Lee is selling sp "North". others were selling sp "Northern Gold", which as i've said is completely different, and not similar to rosea, like sp "North" is.

i've not seen sp "Northern Gold" for sale for a while, but it was Martin Goss that had them, as far as i can remember.

as for what changes or lack of changes they go through, i doubt many could tell you...you'll just have to wait and see.

[Claire Beckett]

James...maybe I had too much to drink last night....but I'm confused lol Sorry, maybe I should just shut up now.

G rosea = G porteri ???


Gold?
Northern gold?

Aw, maybe I need to read your post again.

[James Box]

tis very confusing!!!

unless something has changed, i have been told for ages that:

Grammostola rosea NCF is in fact G porteri
Grammostola rosea RCF is the real G rosea

Grammostola sp "North" = large fluffy spider similar to G porteri (see above!)
Grammostola sp "Northern Gold" = small spider with short setae with general gold colouring all over.

the common names here do not help clear things up, so should be forgotten and never used again!

Lee was one of the people that told me about porteri, as was Colin. so unless i've mis-heard things this is the situation to the best of my meagre knowledge.
the reason the spidershop refers to G porteri as G rosea is i would assume be down to the common usage of G rosea NCF and RCF...

please someone correct me if i am wrong in any of what i've said! i am merely relaying what was said to me as best as i remember it