Paulina
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Spider I.D.
We had the honor of this big guy visiting our patio on two different evenings. The first night we saw it, it was hanging out in the entrance wall of
our garage patio. We could get really close to it to take photos. It was tan/brown, hairy and not quite as large as a tarantula, but pretty big. It
wasn't afraid of us and didn't make any attempt to leave when we shined our flash light on it.
We named it Gilligan after Dern said it reminded him of the giant spider that lived in a cave on Gilligan's Island. (episode 3, The Pigeon)
The second time we saw Gilligan, we were sitting on our other patio swatting away the bugs of the evening that were attracted to the lantern. It came
cruising through, probably looking for bug/dinner scraps. I didn't want the dogs to mess with it, so I got the broom and carefully swept it off of the
patio.
Can anyone I.D. this spider?
Thanks,
P>*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Bajaboy
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yep, looks like Gilligan to me. I think you have the correct spider
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bajacalifornian
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It's a rare distinguished Mexican patio of Paulina Gilligan cruiser spider
(I'm almost certain).
American by birth, Mexican by choice.
Signature addendum: Danish physicist — Niels Bohr — who said, “The opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth.
Jeff Petersen
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Skipjack Joe
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Paulina,
It may be a wolf spider.
If so, they can give you a painful bite. Be cautious.
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KaceyJ
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probably a young tarantula
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paranewbi
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Female Tarantulas pretty much don't wander. After leaving the initial birthing area (if they are not eaten) and locating their own living domain, they
will stay in pretty much a 3 foot circumference of that home for the duration of their lives...the ones that wander are the males in search of mates
and after mating for the first time...their bio clocks tick off about a year of life.
A male will have a small hook under the joint in the forearms. This is to thwart the raising body of the female on her hind legs to reveal her fangs
in a killing attempt which allows the male to hold in those hooks her forearms in that upraised position and leave exposed her under abdomen where he
takes his 'stuff' with his hind legs and places it on her abdomen in the act of impregnating her (whew that was a long sentence and no you wont find
this in the porn section of the web).
Once this act is complete, the male looks for a lull in the action because as soon as he releases her forearms he needs to run like hell! She will do
her best to fang him during this time...and he really wants to live for that last year to fulfill his desire to do this all over again 
If you gently use a stick to raise the arm of that spider you might find the little hook and note that it is truly a male tarantula. Or....you can put
your index finger on the back of its head behind the eyes and gently pin it while using your thumb and middle finger between the back 2 legs on each
side to grasp it and pick it up, turn it over and look at the forearms for the hooks. I use to do this with my female red legged that was almost the
size of my hand when visiting classrooms to speak on these affectionate spiders...she used to love to sit on my tv because it was so warm. I usually
even found her there even when it wasn't on while I was gone.
P.S. If you want to give or purchase one of these for your Grandson (great way to get back at your kids through their children) make sure those hooks
aren't there...or the spider will probably only live a short time and really bum the kid out. There is no way to know if the males have mated when you
see them in the store or catch them out in the wild.
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KaceyJ
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| Quote: | Originally posted by paranewbi
Female Tarantulas pretty much don't wander. After leaving the initial birthing area (if they are not eaten) and locating their own living domain, they
will stay in pretty much a 3 foot circumference of that home for the duration of their lives...the ones that wander are the males in search of mates
and after mating for the first time...their bio clocks tick off about a year of life.
A male will have a small hook under the joint in the forearms. This is to thwart the raising body of the female on her hind legs to reveal her fangs
in a killing attempt which allows the male to hold in those hooks her forearms in that upraised position and leave exposed her under abdomen where he
takes his 'stuff' with his hind legs and places it on her abdomen in the act of impregnating her (whew that was a long sentence and no you wont find
this in the porn section of the web).
Once this act is complete, the male looks for a lull in the action because as soon as he releases her forearms he needs to run like hell! She will do
her best to fang him during this time...and he really wants to live for that last year to fulfill his desire to do this all over again
If you gently use a stick to raise the arm of that spider you might find the little hook and note that it is truly a male tarantula. Or....you can put
your index finger on the back of its head behind the eyes and gently pin it while using your thumb and middle finger between the back 2 legs on each
side to grasp it and pick it up, turn it over and look at the forearms for the hooks. I use to do this with my female red legged that was almost the
size of my hand when visiting classrooms to speak on these affectionate spiders...she used to love to sit on my tv because it was so warm. I usually
even found her there even when it wasn't on while I was gone.
P.S. If you want to give or purchase one of these for your Grandson (great way to get back at your kids through their children) make sure those hooks
aren't there...or the spider will probably only live a short time and really bum the kid out. There is no way to know if the males have mated when you
see them in the store or catch them out in the wild. |
Paranewbi-very educational , interesting write up.
I wish more people would realize they will live longer if they don't breed.
[Edited on 9-1-2013 by KaceyJ]
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rts551
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hogna_lenta_18.jpg
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David K
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Wolf spider... is it called Lobo in Baja?
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durrelllrobert
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Memories
| Quote: | Originally posted by paranewbi
Female Tarantulas pretty much don't wander. After leaving the initial birthing area (if they are not eaten) and locating their own living domain, they
will stay in pretty much a 3 foot circumference of that home for the duration of their lives...the ones that wander are the males in search of mates
and after mating for the first time...their bio clocks tick off about a year of life.
A male will have a small hook under the joint in the forearms. This is to thwart the raising body of the female on her hind legs to reveal her fangs
in a killing attempt which allows the male to hold in those hooks her forearms in that upraised position and leave exposed her under abdomen where he
takes his 'stuff' with his hind legs and places it on her abdomen in the act of impregnating her (whew that was a long sentence and no you wont find
this in the porn section of the web).
Once this act is complete, the male looks for a lull in the action because as soon as he releases her forearms he needs to run like hell! She will do
her best to fang him during this time...and he really wants to live for that last year to fulfill his desire to do this all over again
If you gently use a stick to raise the arm of that spider you might find the little hook and note that it is truly a male tarantula. Or....you can put
your index finger on the back of its head behind the eyes and gently pin it while using your thumb and middle finger between the back 2 legs on each
side to grasp it and pick it up, turn it over and look at the forearms for the hooks. I use to do this with my female red legged that was almost the
size of my hand when visiting classrooms to speak on these affectionate spiders...she used to love to sit on my tv because it was so warm. I usually
even found her there even when it wasn't on while I was gone.
P.S. If you want to give or purchase one of these for your Grandson (great way to get back at your kids through their children) make sure those hooks
aren't there...or the spider will probably only live a short time and really bum the kid out. There is no way to know if the males have mated when you
see them in the store or catch them out in the wild. |
I remember in high school biology class everyone (girls included) had to let a tarantula crawl on their arm to demonstrate that they were harmless. It
was my job to capture at least 1 tarantula a week and bring it to class for this purpose. I remember finding a dead one in its nest that had been
paralyzed by a tarantula hawk and it had larva crawling all over the carcass.
Bob Durrell
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BajaBlanca
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I am awfully glad that I was not in that science class.
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durrelllrobert
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BajaBlanca
I am awfully glad that I was not in that science class. |
As I recall most of the girls and a few boys told the teacher the just wouldn't do it but most gave in after he threatened to fail them if they
didn't. Of course he wasn't serious about that.
Bob Durrell
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2quirky
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official spider ID
The spider in the photo is a Giant Crab Spider also called Huntsman Spiders of the Family Sparassidae. The genus name is Olios. Depending on where
you were in Baja California, it is one of three species. Though these spiders are large enough to bite and possess venom they are not dangerous to
people. The bite would have the effect of perhaps a wasp's sting. As with the vast majority of spiders they are not prone to biting unless directly
threatened. A species from this group was used in the film "Arachnophobia" as the soldier spiders. We frequently find them when camping in Baja CA
under boxes and bags on the ground.
courtesy of
Field Entomologist/Arachnology
San Diego Natural History Museum
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paranewbi
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2quirky...welcome to the farm! Good intro post but might cause prejudicial identification as 'go to guy' for spider ID.
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2quirky
Newbie
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thanks paranewbi - but all I did was go to an expert. I've used him before to identify creepy things around my casa. I did not want to use his name
without permission. I believe in "investigate, not speculate"
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David K
Honored Nomad
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Location: San Diego County
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Yes, welcome to Nomad! The photo link Ralph posted is the same spider as Paulinas or does Wiki gave it wrong calling it a Wolf Spider. Great to have
the facts, thanks!
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Paulina
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3810
Registered: 8-31-2002
Location: BCN
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| Quote: | Originally posted by 2quirky
The spider in the photo is a Giant Crab Spider also called Huntsman Spiders of the Family Sparassidae. The genus name is Olios. Depending on where
you were in Baja California, it is one of three species. Though these spiders are large enough to bite and possess venom they are not dangerous to
people. The bite would have the effect of perhaps a wasp's sting. As with the vast majority of spiders they are not prone to biting unless directly
threatened. A species from this group was used in the film "Arachnophobia" as the soldier spiders. We frequently find them when camping in Baja CA
under boxes and bags on the ground.
courtesy of
Field Entomologist/Arachnology
San Diego Natural History Museum |
Thank you very much for all the replies.
Welcome 2quirky to the Nomad board. It's nice to have new posters, new experiences brought to the board. This spider is in Bahia de Los Angeles.
P>*)))>{
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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