Australian tarantulas - This years egg sacs

Of the four species I mated this year three of them so far have produced egg sacs, Phlogius sp. "Eunice", "Sarina" and "hirsutus". A lot of confusion applies to the generic name we use for Australian tarantulas. At the moment the correct genus is Selenocosmia however here in Australia most enthusiasts have pre-empted the generic revision being undertaken by Dr Raven which will reclassify most Selenocosmia to Phlogius which is at the moment, the junior synonym to Selenocosmia. Makes things difficult I know but Selenocosmia has many difficulties and in reality has just become a dumping ground for species that do not belong anywhere else. More on this at a later time.

My three big females with sacs all went underground and webbed over the top of their burrows in late August/early September. I carefully investigated the burrows a few days ago to confirm that all have large healthy looking sacs. It should not be much longer until I see spiderlings. All females were wild caught and identified by Steve Nunn who being our top amateur expert on tarantulas kindly supplied me with both males and females so I am certain of the species.

I am particlularly interested in the outcome of the Phlogius sp. "hirsutus" egg sac. This is a recently discovered species by Steve Nunn and the image below is of the first recorded mating in captivity. The species is particular interest to taxonomists due to the heavy scopulation and the fact that several specimens have been found in trees up to 7 feet above ground height. Exactly what this means requires more investigation but the thought that it might be a species either in the process of becoming arboreal or alternatively becoming terrestrial is intriguing.

Phlogius sp. "hirsutus" mating. I have an egg sac from this first confirmed captive breeding of this new species.

That's all for now and if the sacs are successful expect some pictures of spiderlings soon.