- Messages
- 35
- Location
- Queen Creek AZ
wild caught after recent monsoon. i already have an adult male, but really want a female.
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Arizona blonde wild caught
- Thread starter Golgotha
- Start date
- Messages
- 149
- Location
- USA
The more I look at this picture the more I think that might be a female A. hentzi.
Where did you collect it?
Where did you collect it?
- Messages
- 35
- Location
- Queen Creek AZ
The odd thing is this. I have early pictures of my sexed male. They look very similar. Also, Females tend to stay in their hide and the males looking for love tend to be the roamers. I wish it was easier to add followup pictures.
- Messages
- 149
- Location
- USA
That's the thing about Aphonopelma - they all look alike at various stages. You literally can't confirm a wild-caught female A. chalcodes from an A. iodius, A. eutylenum, or A. johnnycashi without knowing where it came from and/or doing DNA sequencing. The collection site is part of the accepted species identification key.
For instance, if it's wild caught north of the Arizona/Utah border or anywhere east of Los Cruces, NM it's NOT considered an A. chalcodes no matter what it may look like (unless DNA sequecing proves that it is).
What says "hentzi" to me is the color of the legs. A. chalcodes males usually have darker black legs while females usually have lighter blonde ones. This one has light grey legs that are kinda inbetween the chalcodes male and female and much more like a female A. hentzi.
That's not to say it is or isn't either of those species (or even a completely different one). You can't tell for sure by just a picture on the net. Where you found it therefore becomes key as only a part of the A. chalcodes and A. hentzi ranges overlap.
The exact collection spot is also very helpful. If you picked it up beside a road or near a house it's 95% a wandering male. If you grabbed it out in the bush after a monsoon then it may well be a female as they come out and hang around outside their flooded burrows after a heavy rain.
So where you caught it helps ID it. These guys are like real estate. What matters is location, location, location.
