Phlogius crassipes "Eunice"

A mature female Phlogius crassipes "Eunice"

Another of the outstanding Australian tarantulas I am breeding this season is Phlogius crassipes "Eunice". Eunice is possibly a form of Phlogius crassipes, the type species for the genus and I am treating it as such as this seems to be the preferred classification at the moment and is in accordance with the preferred treatment at this time (pers com Steve Nunn). You will sometimes see it referred to as a seperate species Phlogius sp. "Eunice". This muddle should be sorted out when Dr Raven revises the genus and we are all hoping that revision will be published soon. Note that officially all of these species are still Selenocosmia at the moment however Raven has reserved Phlogius for them in his upcoming revision.

A mature male Phlogius crassipes "Eunice" showing sexual dimorphism compared to the female

In any case, semantics aside and ignoring the debate as to whether Eunice is a variety of Phlogius crassipes or a seperate species altogether, we can be sure that Eunice is closely related to Phlogius crassipes and a little more distantly related to Phlogius sp. "Sarina". Eunice is a more colourful form of the former and on mature female specimens a dark "zorro mask" can be seen around the eyes. The females are a dark chocolate brown colour overall. The sexually dimorphic males are much brighter, with dark femora. Males can have a larger leg span than the females but females are heavier. Eunice is, like it's sisters and cousins, one of the giant forms from the Southern Phlogius group from the mid north coastal region of Queensland and inhabits coastal rainforests and vine thickets. Eunice is not as dark as Sarina but it is darker than Phlogius crassipes seeming to fall midway between the two. The average diagonal legspan for a mature female is between 16 - 18cm.

Eunice is an opportunistic burrower and will appreciate bark slabs or an upturned half of a flower pot to build it's web and hide under. Immature specimens will burrow quite aggressively and plenty of substrate should be provided for them. Mature specimens will tend to show their opportunistic habits in captivity and should be provided with a hide or other cover under which they will web into a chamber. Mature specimens may not do much burrowing and can be kept on 6 cm of substrate. The container height should not be more than 1.5 times their length as a fall can injure or even kill them. Be wary of placing hard objects in the container on which they might fall. I have my breeding female in a 20 litre Starmaid tub with good ventilation proveded by holes in the lid and side made with the hot tip of a soldering iron. I have also included a large Exoterra fake vine in her enclosure and she seems to appreciate the additional cover this provides although it is not necessary. I use coco peat substrate mixed with 20% clean white beach sand which has been washed to remove excess salt. The sand is the fine white variety found on Queensland beaches. I also include moistened sphagnum moss on approximately 20% of the surface of the enclsure and around the hide entrance to assist with humidity as well as a water dish. Humidity for this species should be around 60-80% RH and as the species is tropical I keep the minimum temperatures to 22C. In it's native habitat winter temperatures range from 19-30C. I keep ambient humidity at the higher end of the scale in the warmer months and let it drop a little (but no less than 60%) from May to June. By webbing its hide or retreating into its opportunistic burrow the tarantula can seek out higher humidity should it feel the need. Be careful not to keep the Australian species on dry substrate as they will have trouble moulting and will not thrive. In summer temperatures here in Brisbane will rise naturally to 30C plus so only minimal heating is required in my spider room from May to July. After that I disconnect heating and let nature do the rest. My spiderlings and immatures are raised in the standard way in vials or large round deli containers with stable high humidity of 70%plus RH. I have managed to source a crystal clear variety of the later which are tall thus enabling plenty of substrate for the spiderling to burrow into. As they reach semi maturity they are potted up into successively larger containers until they are adults when they are rehoused into 20 litre or larger plastic tubs or even larger glass enclosures. For non-display purposes I prefer the plastic tubs which are light and easy to store in my spider room on the shelving I have arranged. Nothing however beats glass for a display tank for a large tarantula except perhaps clear perspex if you can get it! I find clear perspex very difficult to source here and so I do not use it a lot. That will change if I can find a relaible supplier.

Detail of enclosures used for mature specimens. Note the ventilation holes, velcro security fasteners, flower pot cut in half and partially buried for hide, Exoterra vine for additional cover, sphagnum moss on some of the substrate, water dish and leaves and bark strips.

Males will be ready for breeding from late March through to as late as November in the southern hemisphere and will be seen wandering in the wild in late May to early June. I assume in the USA and Europe the breeding period is reversed. This is a species, along with its sister species listed above that is available overseas so should be available for the dedicated enthusiast willing to track them down and research their requirements. In my matings some mild aggression has been displayed but the mating overall is a fairly calm process and you should have no trouble achieving it. Make sure the female is well fed before the breeding season and fatten the mature male up as well while he will eat to ensure he can produce sperm webs and to sustain him through the rigors of mating. After mating keep the female well fed without being silly about it to assist with formation of her eggs. These are big tarantuals and will eat a lot and I give them a variety of foods including crickets, roaches, locusts and also meal worms or superworms which I have found useful in putting condition on them. I also give them a defrosted pinkie mouse every 2 or 3 months. Feeding will slow as temperatures drop and may stop altogether in winter but by keeping minimum temperatures to around 22C adults will continue to feed. Slings and juvies will tend to feed longer at cooler temperatures but again I much prefer to keep their temperatures up a little to keep them active and growing. Slings and juvies should be kept well fed in order to reach their maximum potential and they are greedy eaters. By withholding food they will mature at reduced sizes which is not ideal although they will still be healthy and capable of breeding. I have had a male mature less than half the size of a standard well fed male which appeared to be due to halt in the feeding schedule. The size of a a mature Eunice is quite spectacular and as Sarina has been recorded at 20cm and Phlogius crassipes (Kattabul variety) at 23cm I would not be suprised to see female Eunice maxing out around 20cm in captivity when well kept.

Mating clasp of Phlogius crassipes "Eunice". Note the unique clasp adopted due to lack of tibial mating spurs.

Phlogius sp. Sarina

Phlogius sp. "Sarina" during mating showing male engaging in palpal touching of female venter (Picture copyright 2009 C Senescall)

Phlogius sp. "Sarina" is closely related to P. crassipes and P. crassipes "Eunice" and is one of the giants of the Southern Phlogius group. A mature Sarina female has a dark colour with a beautiful sheen that I find very attractive. It is one of my favourite species and makes an impressive display in a properly set up enclosure. The Sarina inhabits coastal rainforest in the mid north coastal region of Queensland, Australia.

Australian tarantula invasion?

A big, healthy, well fed female Phlogius crassipes hanging from my friend Greg Bylund's hand saying cheese!

Thanks to Grant Miller (copyright 2008) for kind access to the above picture taken on a visit to Greg's house in August 2008.

You may have seen reports in the press about an Australian tarantula invasion eg. in this Times Online article.

Just to add a little sanity to the hysteria (party pooper I know) I will paste a response I made on another forum to questions about the truth of this article and similar articles popping up:

This story is a beat up and is the usual case of the press going for sensational rubbish to sell product. First Bowen is hardly an "outback" town. It is a small coastal town in the mid north coast region of Queensland. The article notes that but the headline does not. Quite a nice little place with friendly people and very sleepy.

Second - the spiders are indeed tarantulas - Selenocosmia (Phlogius) crassipes which are common in the region and have been found and known there for a very long time and in fact the original type specimen for what was then known as Phrictus crassipes comes from Bowen and was described by Koch in 1874. There would probably have been a lot more around back then but obviously our forefathers had a higher threshold for hysteria and did not in over a century complain of being invaded.

A pest exterminator in another article was quoted as saying 10 tarantulas had been found - hardly an invasion. Even in the article in question although the headline says INVASION and the article says the the exterminator had been "innundated with calls" when it quotes him he says, "There have been a number of reports. It's not plague proportions but a number have been spotted around the district.” Not an invasion by any stretch of the imagination. Apparantly they are wandering and in search of females later in the season than usual due to high humidity of recent rains. This is where they live; this is what they do. Of course normally being an opportunistic burrower they operate under the radar and usually go unnoticed.

In another article the exterminator said: "They (The Times) were obviously looking at the sensational side of it, but I basically set them straight that it wasn't thousands of the things crawling around attacking people or anything like that, there were just a few that had been sighted," Mr Geiszler said.

You should start with the premise anything you read in the press is wrong or at best highly misleading until proven otherwise.

I have even been contacted by the press in some European countries for a photograph of this species from my blog so it looks like there has been a lot of interest in this invasion - run for your lives, the world is coming to an end and we're all going to die. Spare us please. I am just waiting now for the press to somehow blame the whole thing on global warming and then the party can really start. "Scientists warn that global warming will lead to annihilation of the human species by giant tarantulas!" - remember - you saw that here first.

The bite of Phlogius crassipes can make you sick and it will kill a dog or cat if they are invenomated but not what I would think you would call highly toxic. Keepers here get bitten occassionally and usually don't even bother going to hospital to get checked (probably smart to do). For more information see Bites by spiders of the family Theraphosidae in humans and canines, Geoffrey K. Isbistera,*, Jamie E. Seymourb, Michael R. Grayc, Robert J. Ravend in Toxicon (Toxicon 41 (2003) 519–524). The study notes: "The nine spider-bites in humans caused only minor effects. Local pain and puncture marks were the commonest clinical effects" and concludes "The study suggests that bites by these spiders are unlikely to cause major problems in humans. The study also demonstrates that the venom appears to be far more toxic to canines than humans with a 100% case fatality rate in the study." Vomiting and discomfort for some hours is likely to be the strongest reaction you will get form the species in question.

Now that the area is drying out after the rains they will all soon die or retreat back to suitable burrows where they will get the humidity and warmth they need to survive.

Now that's cleared up can we please return to our regularly scheduled end of the world panic from, say, global warming, swine flu or suitcase nuclear bombs and such?

Kotzman's Birdspider and Phlogius sp. Sarina bred

It is interesting to compare the different mating behaviours displayed by different species of tarantula. The Kotzman's Birdspider has afast and furious mating style. The picture below of the mating is the first one ever taken of the first mating in captivity. The Phlogius sp. "Sarina", by comparison, has a more gentle approach to the nuptuals. There are several unique characters displayed by the Kotzman's Birdspider in its mating rituals when compared to the Phlogius genus but I will leave a thorough analysis of that to my articles I am preparing for Thula which is the AIF bi-annual journal.

Kotzman's Birdspider - first mating picture by Charles Senescall

The Australian species, Phlogius sp. Sarina mating. These very large tarantulas showed no agression during he mating process. Picture by Charles Senescall

Overseas visitors should note that Australian tarantulas do not have tibial mating spurs and therefore the male clasps the female in a different manner to the hold you may be more used to seeing. Typically the male holds the female by squeezing her chelicera together with Leg I and holding her secure down over the top of her carapace. He then generally places Leg II between the females Leg I and II (although sometimes over leg I, II or III). The female bends at the abdomen up to 90 degrees in this hold and exposes her genital area making access by the males pedipalps a little easier. This is well illustrated in the photographs I took above.