Tarantula Terms

[Samantha Lewanewsky]

Right, I've been looking through some identification keys and what not, and yet again going to ask for help! It's the blonde hair, I'm sure!

Need help with terms used, for example...
prolateral maxillae
clypeus
prolateral recumbent thorns
denticles
prolateral trochanter
dorsum
paddle hairs
bacilliform hairs
scopulae

I've tried to look for a detailed guide explaining but can't find one

Any help appreciated

[Zoltan Mihaly Lestyan]

Hi,
I'm not an expert, but I'll try to give you some basic answers until someone who is educated on the subject chimes in and gives you some more accurate answers. Sorry, I can't always explain the terms properly in English, because mostly I know them by the Latin/Greek name or Hungarian name.

prolateral... - lateral = on the side; pro = in front of-- that would make prolateral "at the front on the side" or "on the side (facing) towards the front".

...maxillae - plural of maxilla, a mouth part of tarantulas (and other arthropods) [picture].

clypeus - the area between the anterior eyes and the anterior edge of the carapace.

prolateral recumbent thorns - are processes/apparatuses (sorry, not sure which word would be more appropriate) located on the appendages (I think they can be on the maxilla, coxa, possibly other parts too-- picture in this article, and form part of a stridulatory organ (also mentioned in linked article)).

denticles - honestly, I haven't heard about this one before, google gave "small pointed ridge on the exoskeleton of an arthropod".

prolateral trochanter - the segment between the coxa and femur [picture].

dorsum - the upper (dorsal) surface/part/side of the spider ("the back").

paddle hairs - hmmm...

bacilliform hairs - shaped like a bacillus (like a rod).

scopulae - plural of scopula.

Hope this helps some.

[Phil Rea]

Right, I've been looking through some identification keys and what not, and yet again going to ask for help! It's the blonde hair, I'm sure!

Need help with terms used, for example...
prolateral maxillae
clypeus
prolateral recumbent thorns
denticles
prolateral trochanter
dorsum
paddle hairs
bacilliform hairs
scopulae

I've tried to look for a detailed guide explaining but can't find one

Any help appreciated

Right :

Prolateral - on the side and facing towards the front of the specimen.

Clypeus - measured from the front edge of the carpace to the anterior (front) eyes

Prolateral recumbent thorns - thorns leaning backwards (usually resting on the surface of what they stick out of) prolaterally (see above).

Denticles - 'tooth' like protrusions.

Trochanter - second 'section' of the leg going away from the carapace (coxa - trochanter - femur - patella - tibia - metatarsus - tarsus).

Dorsum - usually the outer side of something (e.g. the dorsum of the abdomen is the top of the abdomen as you're looking down on the spider).

Paddle hairs - hairs shaped (microscopically) like a paddle.

Bacilliform hair - rod shaped (microscopically) hair.

Scopulae - hairs (not really hairs but that's the simplest way of defining it). For example theraphosids have pad of iridescent scopulae on their 'feet'.

Hopefully some of that helps

[Samantha Lewanewsky]

Thanks for replying so quickly guys
Might add some more to the list soon, didn't know it was so complicated!!!

[Jane Mitchell]

While we're on the subject of terms, I've always wondered what the number codes are that you use to describe your collections. Most members have a drop-down list in their signatures with things like '0.0.1 L. Parahybana' in it. What to do the numbers mean??

[Phil Rea]

While we're on the subject of terms, I've always wondered what the number codes are that you use to describe your collections. Most members have a drop-down list in their signatures with things like '0.0.1 L. Parahybana' in it. What to do the numbers mean??

Male . Female . Unsexed

0.0.1 - 1 unsexed spider
1.0.1 - 1 male, no female, 1 unsexed spiders

etc..

[Mark Pennell]

Excellent replies, so good I have stuck this thread and hopefully we can build it up as a collection of facts and explanations.


Regards
Mark

[KJ Vezino]

Here are some references that have helped me greatly:

Arthropod Glossary, a guide to technical terms commonly encountered.

http://atshq.org/ArthropodGlossary.pdf

Online Dictionary of Invertebrate Zoology

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/onlinedictinvertzoology/

[John Hays]

Wow, you guys really know your stuff, looks like I have bundles to learn!

[JessicaScott]

It's the blonde hair, I'm sure!

[Stanley A. Schultz]

Hi,
I'm not an expert, but I'll try to give you some basic answers until someone who is educated on the subject chimes in and gives you some more accurate answers. Sorry, I can't always explain the terms properly in English, because mostly I know them by the Latin/Greek name or Hungarian name. ...

Generally, you did a fantastic job!

... denticles - honestly, I haven't heard about this one before, google gave "small pointed ridge on the exoskeleton of an arthropod". ..

Little tooth-like processes often but not always arranged in a row or along the edge of a structure.

... paddle hairs - hmmm...

Me neither! Could they be something like these? (Click or right-click the thumbnails to see larger images.)





(Both of these are scanning electron microscope photos (SEM micrographs) of the front leg of a 4th or 5th instar Brachypelma albopilosum exuvium and appeared in TKG3. Photos taken by Dr. Wei Xiang Dong. Many thanks for all your help Wei Xiang!)

These structures moved in the near perfect vacuum of a scanning electron microscope in response to varying electrical potentials as the mechanism functioned! Hence, a little distortion in the close-up photo. We just sat there and watched with our mouths agape for a good 5 minutes!


_________________________________________

"Our ignorance [about tarantulas] is staggering."
- S. A. Schultz, TKG3

[craig mcinnes]

A few years late but this might help. http://www.arachnophiles.co.uk/forum...hosid-Taxonomy
I did it so take it with a pinch of salt.