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.

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.

Australian Tarantula Mating Videos

The first video linked to below is of a mating pair of Phlogius sp. "Goliath" tarantulas shot by Grant Miller one of the experienced breeders from the AIF forum. The Goliath is a member of the Northern Phlogius group of tarantulas found in far north Queensland. The female in this video is large and has a leg span of 21.5cm. This is an excellent video showing the last stage of the mating process and clearly shows the form of clasp used by the male of this species as well as the palpal drumming. I hope you enjoy studying this video as much as I have!

YouTube video of the Australian Goliath Tarantula mating filmed by Grant Miller

The second link provided is to another awesome video by Grant Miller but this time it features the breeding of Phlogius sp. "Sarina" one of the giant Southern Phlogius group found in the central Queensland coastal region.

YouTube video of Phlogius sp. "Sarina" mating filmed by Grant Miller

This years breeders

This is an exciting time of year for me when the planning begins for the seasons breeding efforts. I am hoping to get some young this year from some pairings. Planned pairings are:

Phlogius crassipes "Kuttabul" form
Phlogius sp. "Sarina"
Phlogius crassipes "Eunice"
Phlogius sp. "hirsutus"

The last species is of particular interest to me as it was only discovered by noted amateur arachnologist, Steve Nunn recently (December 2008). Below is a shot of one of these beauties taken by Steve.

Phlogius sp. "hirsutus" - mature female