Haplopelma sp."Vietnam" pictures:
Subfamily :
Ornithoctoninae Pocock, 1895
Genus : Haplopelma simon, 1892
Species : Haplopelma longipes von Wirth & Striffler, 2005
Haplopelma longipes pictures:
Haplopelma sp."Vietnam" pictures:
Country of origin :
Vietnam/Thailand
Temperature & humidity requirements : High/High
Natural habitat : Dense rain forest
Adult Size : Medium - around 6" legspan
Temperament : Extremely defensive and nervous
Ah, the wonderful world of Asian Theraphosid taxonomy. This is a spider with an identity crisis, which I will do my best to explain. If I am incorrect, please don't shout at me too much!
There once was a spider described as Cyriopagopus paganus. For many years, large black Asian theraphosids were generally sold into the pet trade as either "Haplopelma minax" or "Cyriopagopus paganus". It seems that the pet trade needed a name and this was the one they chose. In more recent years, the material being sold as Cyriopagopus paganus was examined by German theraphosid enthusiast Volker von Wirth. Volker's examinations revealed that what was being sold in the trade as "Cyriopagopus paganus" was actually similar to Haplopelma, and not Cyriopagopus. Volker gave this spider the "working name" of Haplopelma sp. "longipedum". Unfortunately, the original type specimen of Cyriopagopus paganus has been lost. This means that we do not know if what is now called Haplopelma sp. "longipedum" (now Haplopelma longipes) is actually the same spider that was originally described as Cyriopagopus paganus. Until the type specimen is found, this question cannot be answered.
In 2005,
Gunther Schmidt described a black Asian tarantula as Haplopelma vonwirthi. This
caused much controversy in the hobby, as there was widespread confusion over
this description. It appears that Schmidt thought he was describing
the spider known in the trade as "longipedum" when he was actually describing
another black Asian spider known in the hobby as Haplopelma sp."Vietnam".
To further
add to the confusion, this description and species name was later declared to be
invalid due to the description not following the International Code of
Zoological Nomenclature, which are the rules that govern the process of
scientific description.
Haplopelma sp."longipedum" was then correctly described by Volker von Wirth and Boris Striffler in 2005 and given the name Haplopelma longipes.
Confused now? Good! We now have a situation where people are selling 2 different species under various scientific names such as Cyriopagopus paganus, Haplopelma longipes, Haplopelma vonwirthi and Haplopelma sp."Vietnam" as well as a myriad of common names. As you can imagine, this creates a lot of confusion when it comes to breeding, and males sold as H.longipes often turn out to actually be H.sp."Vietnam".
Haplopelma sp."Vietnam" is superficially similar looking to Haplopelma longipes, with key differences. It lacks the enlarged rear legs with prominent brushes of hairs on the tarsus and metatarsus of Leg IV, and also the leg length relations are not the same as they are for Haplopelma sp. "longipedum" and Haplopelma lividum (lividum and sp."longipedum" are the only Haplopelma species with a Leg IV significantly larger than leg I)
One further note on Haplopelma sp."Vietnam". Closer inspection of this spider has led experts to believe that it may be a geographical variant of Haplopelma minax. Further studies will show if this belief is correct, but in the mean time we should treat the two as separate species.
For me, the longipes and "Vietname" spiders are quite easy to tell apart,
especially when adults are placed side by side, but mistakes still regularly
happen.
For a better idea of what you are keeping, send a relatively fresh exuvium to
Soren Rafn or Volker von Wirth for examination. It doesn't affect anything from
a care point of view, but becomes important when breeding.
Haplopelma longipes pictures:
These are slender (compared to say, schmidti), predominantly black tarantulas from South-Eastern Asia, specifically Thailand and Vietnam. Here, they are found in extremely deep tropical forest burrows. Like the majority of Asian terrestrial species, these are obligate burrowing tarantulas. Many people do not cater for this need in captivity, resulting in a rather stressed and uncomfortable spider. A good way of spotting stress in Asian theraphosids is a bald abdomen. Whilst this is common in New World spiders due to urticating setae, which are wilfully and easily cast, Asian spiders possess no such easily dislodged "hairs". Therefore a bald Old World spider is generally an unhappy one. Please do your pet a favour and give it the conditions it needs to thrive.
I have found two basic systems work well with Asian burrowers. One is a deep "reverse arboreal" tank, filled with soil and a deep vertical burrow. The other is a shallower tank with an almost horizontal burrow, like a drift mine. Both work well and will be outlined in a "How To" section elsewhere on the site. If given a pre-made or pre-started burrow, H longipes will usually disappear down to the bottom and you won't see it much after that. My females will sometimes sit at the entrance of the burrow in the very early hours of the morning, otherwise they remain deep in the burrow, which is heavily lined with silk. A hidden Haplopelma is a happy Haplopelma!
Temperatures in the Vietnam jungle can get extremely high in the summer, and relative humidity can be almost 100%. In the months May - September, temperatures are high (29oC or more) and extremely wet, with monsoon rainfall. October - April is generally quite dry and cool, temperatures of 17oC. With annual rainfall reaching over 2,000 mm in places, the importance of moisture should not be underestimated! I keep the soil (pure peat/potting compost) moist to wet during the summer, letting it slowly dry out over the winter. Remember that in the spring, the peat will need soaking several times before it regains it's ability to hold moisture. Dry peat has an uncanny ability to dry the air out in the tank, so an occasional light misting may be beneficial throughout the dry season.
Feed them well and they will grow rapidly - but ensure that all remains are cleared up wherever possible, as damp tanks are prone to mite infestations. I never see my female eat, but the crickets always vanish......
Please, for the safety of you and your pet, do not handle this spider. They have a nasty habit of "playing dead" before rearing up, stridulating and striking wildly with little or no warning. They will hold threat posture for several hours after a disturbance, "slapping" and striking loudly. Be safe, be smart. Don't get bitten
©2006 Leon Lane. All materials contained herein are the property of Leon Lane. Please ask permission before using any images!