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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eighth Eye Blind" data-source="post: 243156" data-attributes="member: 49683">It's incredibly hard to identify most species from a single picture, but I'm going to stick my neck out and say that what you've got there isn't actually a tarantula!To me it looks like a "false tarantula" of the genus Calisoga. These are closely related to true tarantulas but don't quite make the cut. They're sort of halfway between true tarantulas and trap door spiders with a few features borrowed from each. They're pretty common in your area of California.There are two things that make me think this:First, you found it inside. Houses are Calisoga territory. It's not unheard of for tarantulas to invite themselves in but it's not really normal behavior for them either. Tarantulas from your part of the US tend to be pretty shy except for (as Andrew mentioned) mature males that wander around lookin' for love during the mating season. It's a little bit late in the year for males to be out on the prowl which weighs against that being a true tarantula species. It also looks way too small to be a mature male from any of the tarantulas that live in your area.Second, the tarsi on your little friend (the most distal segments of the legs) seem a bit too long and slender for a true tarantula. Again, it's really hard to judge from a single pic but to me those tarsi are screaming Calisoga rather than tarantula. As Andrew also suggests, more pics will definitely help. You really need good shots of all parts of the little beasty in order to tell what it is. Please post more if you can!</blockquote>

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