Australian Invertebrates

Transcription

Volume 1, Issue 1
June 2008
Australian
Invertebrates
The Australian Invertebrate Forum Newsletter
THE AUSTRALIAN INVERTEBRATE FORUM NEWSLETTER
Vol 1 Issue 1
AUSTRALIAN INVERTEBRATE
IN THIS ISSUE
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fantastic phasmids
Ben Dessen
What are phasmids? Ben Dessen introduces Australian phasmids.
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inland salt lake scorpion
Mark Newton
Expert advice from an expert on the evolution, habitat, captive care of a
unique scorpion species.
9
tiger beetles: in the eyes of the tiger
Alan Henderson
Fast and armed to the teeth. We get the low down from Alan on this predator.
11
the state of scorpion taxonomy in Australia
Mark Newton
An in depth examination of scorpion taxonomy applicable to many related areas
of study.
13
a month of tarantulas
Charles Senescall
One month in - is he out of his depth?
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www.thegreenscorpion.com
Intro to this issue
1
Fantastic Phasmids
Vol 1 Issue 1
or spines. They have versatile tarsi (feet), made up of five
segments capable of climbing many surfaces. Another distinguishing feature is the phasmids oval shaped head containing
two compound eyes, and either long or short antennae made
by Ben Dessen
up of over 100 segments. Sexual dimorphism is evident in
most species, with females being significantly larger than
males and are unable to fly. Males on the other hand are capable fliers and have two sets of wings. The forewing known
he invertebrate keeping hobby in Australia is growas the “tegmen” is usually shorter than the fragile hind wing
ing rapidly, and it’s no wonder! With such a large
and acts as a protective covering to avoid damage to the wing
array of amazing critters available to enthusiasts, the interest
membrane.
for these unusual pets is gaining pace fast. One group of inMale phasmids can be quite rare in many species as
vertebrates that have always been a favourite for experienced
often
there
is simply no need for them. Females are parthenokeepers and novices alike, are of course, the phasmids. These
genetic,
meaning
they can produce fertile, viable ova (eggs)
elusive, intriguing and fascinating insects make the ideal pet
without male fertilisation. A female phasmid can lay between
for a younger child, unable to keep a more ‘adventurous’ in400-1000 eggs in her lifetime, varying between species. Of
vertebrate such as a tarantula or scorpion, yet they also prothese, usually only around 10%
vide enough challenges to keep
will reach adulthood. This high
the ‘big kids’ hooked.
mortality rate is the reason why
LEAF & STICK INSECTS
So what exactly is a phassuch a large number of ova are
mid? The name ‘phasmid’ can be
produced.
derived from its Greek origin
Phasmids,
or
stick
and
leaf
insects
As phasmids grow and
meaning “apparition”. This is a
as they are more commonly known, develop, much like tarantulas and
somewhat appropriate name as
use their colour and shape to cam- scorpions they shed their exophasmids truly are the masters of
disguise. The order phasmatodea
ouflage themselves as the leaves skeletons (known as ecdysis) and
progress through “instars”. After a
of which there are approximately
and twigs of the flora they inhabit. moult the insect may eat the shed
2500-3000 species worldwide,
They can grow in size anywhere skin which gives it a protein boost
can be broken up into three sepafrom 30 to 300 mm in body length.
to continue growing. Commonly
rate families. These are Phylliifemales undergo six moults to
dae, Phasmatidae and Timematidae, with ‘true’ leaf insects beFossils have been found dating reach maturity or “ultimate instar”
and males undergo five moults,
longing to a sub-family of Phylliiback to the Eocene. Ben Dessen but this may also vary between
nae.
gives us some insights into these species.
In Australia there are
fascinating insects.
In the wild, phasmids inaround 150 species of phasmid
corporate
a wide range of plant
ranging across most parts of the
foliage
into
their diets depending
nation, including the inhospitable
on
species
and
geographical
location.
Some
plants commonly
Simpson Desert where a Spinifex-eating stick insect can be
consumed include – Eucalyptus, Acacia sp., Bottlebrush, Lilly
found. Some of Australia’s most spectacular phasmid species
Pilly and Blackberry. In captivity, Eucalyptus is the preferred
can be found on the east coast of Australia ranging from
choice by many keepers due to its abundance across the counnorthern New South Wales right up to the “top end”. A rare
try and throughout suburbia. Generally, once a captive insect
species of leaf insect Phyllium Siccofolium is found almost
is fed a particular plant species they should remain on this diet
exclusively in pockets of rainforest in far north Queensland
for their lifetime, rather than offering a variety of foliage. In
and Papua New Guinea.
Australia, there are some species of phasmids that can occur
The longest phasmid species in Australia, the Titan
in plague proportion. They appear in a seven year cycle and
Stick Insect Acrophyla Titan can reach lengths of up to 30cm.
when their numbers are greatest they can completely defoliate
Followed closely by Australia’s largest species, the Goliath
entire eucalypt forests.
Stick insect Eurycnema Goliath, reaching lengths between
As a result of the phasmid’s solitary behaviour and
15cm-25cm, but filling out more than A.Titan. Australia’s
“clumsy” mannerisms they can often fall prey to many predamost well known and easily recognised and widely kept spetors such as birds and become a quick meal. They do not poscies of phasmid is the Spiny Leaf Insect, Extatosoma Tiarasess a stinger or fangs so generally are unable to protect themtum. E.Tiaratum is commonly kept in overseas collections
selves. The exception to this is the Peppermint Stick Inparticularly in the UK and USA for its ease of care and simple
sect ,Megacrania Batesii, that has the ability to excrete a
diet. It can come in a variety of colour forms, ranging from
chemical spray which can be irritable to predators. This spray
dark brown to white and fluorescent green.
is released from glands on the dorsal side of the thorax of the
Most phasmid species can be recognised from their
insect and can cause temporary blindness or a foul taste if
long, slender elongated body. This can either be quite broad
consumed.
e.g. Extatosoma Tiaratum, or flat and skinny, e.g. Acrophyla
Generally, phasmids rely on their exceptional camouTitan. All phasmids have six slender legs often with flanges
T
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flage skills to remain undetected by other animals. They have
the ability to change colour to match their surrounds, and
many are shaped in the form of twigs, leaves or bark. As well
as these unique characteristics, phasmids practice a number of
self defence mechanisms to further ensure their survival.
When disturbed or threatened, some phasmid species will
drop from a tree and lie motionless on the ground “playing
dead”, for up to a few hours. This interesting habit is known
as “catalepsy” and is demonstrated most frequently by E. tiaratum. Other phasmids such as the Goliath Stick insect Eurycnema goliath, will flair their wings out and flash bright red
colouration along with two black dots resembling eyes. They
may also thrash out with their legs which have sharp spines,
and this defensive show will often put off any potential predators. The vast majority of phasmid species are nocturnal, only
feeding and moving with the cover of darkness. This is their
most simple yet effective strategy to avoid the prying eyes of
any nearby hungry birds.
Phasmids are certainly one of the world’s most interesting invertebrate groups due to their vast and varied shapes,
sizes, colours and amazing habits. They inhabit many different habitats around Australia and play an important ecological
role in the environment. Phasmids are not an invertebrate you
see everyday in the wild and almost certainly, that’s the way
they like it!
References
http://www.zoofriends.org.au/zoonooz 07 Date Accessed:
5/6/08
Fellenberg. S www.friendsofthephasmid.org.au Date Accessed: 5/6/08
Australian Museum www.austmus.gov.au Date Accessed:
5/6/08
♣
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Inland Salt Lake Scorpion
Australobuthus xerolimniorum Locket 1996
By Mark A. Newton
A
round 1 million years ago a vast inland
sea dried up leaving behind a series of
large salt lakes. Today, Lake Eyre, Lake
Gairdner, Lake Torrens, Island Lagoon and
Lake Hart make up the largest of these dry
inland masses of salt. Each of these South
Australian lakes is in a low lying basin receiving the run off after rains and sporadically filling with solute laden water. As the
water evaporates it leaves behind dissolved
solutes, which are largely salts such as NaCl.
Soil washed off the land is eventually blown
across the surface by the high winds which
whip up across the vast open expanses.
These sands form dunes around each lake,
with bigger dunes occurring on the sides facing the predominant winds.
Australobuthus xerolimniorum is a medium sized
Buthid which has adapted to the salt lake environment.
This modified Lychas was described in 1996 by A.
Locket of the University of Adelaide. Lychas entered
Australia a very long time ago, well before breaking
away from Gondwana. This highly adaptive form radiated out across the mainland filling almost every environment possible other than the most southerly extremes
such as Tasmania. Australobuthus is quite an amazing
and unique example of Lychas diversification. It would
appear that this species evolved relatively recently as it
would not have existed in its present form prior to the
formation of the salt lakes which as stated, took place
only about 1 million years ago. This would also explain why the species is identical from lake to lake, even
though large land barriers exist between suitable habitats effectively cutting off any possibility of gene flow.
This species has all but completely lost is pigmentation. The only pigment seen is that around the large median and lateral eyes. A typical Buthid, it has small pedipalps with tiny hands and a moderately large tail, is a
fast mover and very active nocturnal forager. Its legs a blur as it races across the salt lake surface in search of
prey items which consist largely of sleeping flies and other small invertebrates such as spiders, hymenopterans
and hemipterans. When a prey item is found and caught the scorpion remains still during feeding before taking
off again. It appears this scorpion might have homing ability as some studies on overseas species have shown.
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The large eyes might be used to capture enough light to recognise the various landforms for return. It’s not
uncommon to find them as much as 50m off shore and even up to 100m, however, they are most commonly
within 20m of shore. They have been found under logs laying on the salt surface, in mud cracks and in leaf
litter under bushes surrounding the lakes. The damp vegetative laden shore lines would be quite adequate for
survival without the need for a burrow. It is not known if a burrow is utilised, although in captivity they will
attempt to burrow if facing desiccation. They are very rarely ever found in the dunes, they are a shoreline –
lake surface specialist. They would be out competed
in the dunes, as the far more aggressive and larger Lychas buchari (inset image) would make an easy meal
of the smaller salt lake dweller. Scorpions occupying
the dune areas include as stated Lychas buchari, Isometroides vescus, marbled scorpions in leaf litter
(Lychas spp) and Urodacus armatus. Surrounding
rocky hillsides are occupied by Isometroides vescus
and angusticaudus, and Lychas truncatus and jonesae.
At some stage this species would have existed in
one largely continuous distribution, more than likely
the dunes surrounding the inland sea. As the sea dried
Lychas buchari occupying dunes around inland salt lakes
up competition for space might have pushed this animal
would prey on Australobuthus if it ad the chance.
out of the dunes onto the drying shorelines of the lakes.
The ever drying lake surfaces would have become a potential feeding ground thus far not utilised by any other
species. At this stage of course Australobuthus might have looked quite different depending on the type of habitat it
came from. If the surrounding dunes
where the precursor lived were white
(which is unlikely), it is possible this animal had already lost its pigment as we see
it today. If not, it would not have taken
very long for natural selection to act on
the colour, as anything moving about the
open surface would stand out to predators
unless it was well camouflaged. The open
environment of the drying sea bed would
not have been a favourable place for
mammalian predators as they would have
fallen easy victim to nocturnal birds of
chelal grasp and cheliceral kiss is a part of the promenade in Ausprey. Those Australobuthus foraging farther The
tralobuthus.
from shore would have been safe from insectivorous marsupials and unseen by nocturnal raptors as they gradually lost pigment and hence adaptation to
this foreign environment raced ahead. Changes in physiology would have also had to occur as salt is such a
drying substance and this is clear from experiments showing the incredible water retention abilities of this species.
Why a new genus? Why has a modified Lychas been placed into its own genus? This is not the only example
of a Lychas having become so modified it has been given generic status. Isometroides and Hemilychas are also
Lychas derivatives having been given generic status. The argument for Australobuthus being placed into its
own genus comes from a combination of characters including, unusual ecology, almost complete lack of pigment, lack of a subaculear tubercle (st), extremely large eyes and extremely long pectines. All of these charac5
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ters are most likely the result of its environment. The lack
of a st is one of the most definitive characters morphologically, as all Lychas are recognised by the presence of this
character. The trend in Australia though has been for Lychas to gradually lose it, most likely in response to foraging moving from vegetative environments to open environments. The st can just be seen in juvenile Australobuthus, and in adults is nothing more than a slight bump at
the most.
As with most open environment scorpions, Australobuthus
The subaculear tubercle of Australobuthus is only prehas developed a dense array of sensory setae to help gather
sent in very early instars.
information about its environment. The inset image shows the
high density of setae present on the metasoma.
Also note the characteristically small vesicle and
comparatively large aculeus.
Australobuthus in Captivity
We are lucky in that this incredibly interesting
and unique species is relatively easy to maintain in
captivity. My tests show that this animal loses water to evaporation at about 1/3 of the rate Lychas
buchari loses water, although this figure varies between forms of L. buchari, some being hardier than
others. Scorpions that are good at retaining water
are always the easiest to keep, they are not as fussy
Foragers occupying open environments often have an increased as the others and as a result, it is a lot easier to find a
array of sensory seta as shown above on the metasoma of Aussuitable housing method. They are not however withtralobuthus.
out potential problems. As with all desert Buthids, mycosis (fungal infections) need to be avoided as they are readily susceptible, so much so, that it is not uncommon to find individuals in the wild with mild cases.
Even in the wild, scorpions can not always locate
perfect conditions to retreat in. Any animal that
lives in constant contact with soil will need to deal
with potential mycosis; some secrete fungicides,
while others seem to have a protective integument.
Spores do the best in damp, humid and warm conditions. It is often a Catch-22 for the keeper, as all
scorpions need a relatively high level of humidity
to control evaporative water loss, but at the same
time, they need to be aware of the potential for mycosis to get a hold. Thankfully Australobuthus does
well in relatively dry air.
Housing and Conditions:
The very large median eyes may be used to collect enough light
to recognise the environment and allow homing ability.
I use bone dry soil and a shallow dish filled with washed scoria and water. The water is available for the
scorpion to drink and bumps humidity up a little. I think it is wise to have a lid on your housing with some
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ventilation. I drill many holes into the walls of one end up to about 1/3 the length of the housing. If ventilation
is not adequate your scorpion might develop mycosis. Mycosis can be recognised as dark spots or patches
where the integument is being eaten; eventually it will move inside and kill the scorpion. The feet and legs are
a common spot for infection, along with the pectines. Baking the soil in the oven or microwaving is an effective method for killing fungal spores as those responsible seem to be soil borne. Dry soil will also help to keep
any mite population under control. If mites are seen in any numbers other than a few it will be necessary to
bake fresh soil and start again. Adding an inclusion such as a rock or terracotta pot shard gives a surface where
they can escape from the substrate, they seem to prefer these higher spots too. I have found they get along
quite well in a group, but the possibility of a gravid female consuming others exists. One way to avoid this is
to keep them all well fed and give them plenty of off-substrate places to sit
Very little of anything else is needed; they tend to prefer to sit out in the open in my experience and as long
as they are kept out of sunlight this should be the case. The difficulty arises with gravid females nearing parturition and young instars. You will need to bump up humidity at some stage if you have a gravid female as a
successful parturition will not take place if the air is dry. She will most likely construct a scrape in open soil as
preparation. When you can clearly see embryos through her pleural membrane its time to increase the relative
humidity. Reduce the degree of ventilation and
fill the water dish. I advise you use sticky tape
over a drilled hole to add water and feed as removing the lid will diminish humidity. Removing the tape momentarily will have little effect on
humidity. Covering ventilation holes with tape
will increase humidity. Keep the scorpion between 25-30C.
A small number of young are born, 10-15;
they are almost completely white, with a little
orange pigment on the fingers and tail. Ecdysis to
second instar is very much temperature dependant, from as little as 7 days in warm conditions to
2-3 weeks in cooler conditions. Be prepared to
Young in the process of being born.
remove vagile 1st instars from mum and place into
their own container for ecdysis. I have no idea if
they are highly vagile in the wild, but in captivity I find the young move about quite a bit. In the wild they
might move about inside the scrape retreat built by mum. If they do leave mum and not return I advise to
move them into a sealed container. Place them into a plastic lid placed onto dampened soil, this will give them
the necessary humidity while keeping them off the damp substrate. Remove as soon as ecdysis takes place and be very
careful as they will be very fragile.
I suggest keeping 2nd instars in small air tight housing
with a shallow water dish and dry soil as with mum, except
no ventilation. Once again add water and food via a small
hole which has sticky tape in place when not in use. Make
sure the water dish has plenty of rocks sticking out so the
scorpion can escape if it runs into difficulty and allow access
via small rocks or terracotta pot shards. Avoid wood surfaces
with this species as these can grow fungi and create problems. Feed pinhead crickets or termites ad libitum and maintain at around 25C. Of course bake the soil first.
7
1st instars moved for their first ecdysis after leaving
mum.
Vol 1 Issue 1
Rocks and other inclusions are necessary to allow
the scorpion access to positions off the substrate.
Sexing
Not easy. Look for the usual signs of larger body size in the female, the females are generally quite a bit
larger than the males in this species. The only other real sexually dimorphic character is in the length of the
pectines, in which the males are longer, but this is not easy as they are very long in both sexes, as many as 40
teeth on each side. Otherwise hand shape and tail are much the same between the two. There appears to be no
sexual sting and little if any aggression between the sexes.
♣
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Tiger Beetles
Vol 1 Issue 1
© Alan Henderson
IN THE EYES OF THE TIGER
By Alan Henderson
Minibeast Wildlife
W
hen it comes to fast runners, tiger beetles take
the crown for the fastest insects on our planet –
and it is an Australian species which holds the
record. Cicindela hudsoni can travel at about 2.5 metres per
second – equal to about 350km/hr on our scale. In fact, tiger
beetles run so fast that they actually lose the ability to see
once they start moving. They have to visually lock on to their
prey first, or run in short bursts to re-orient themselves as
they chase their food. Either way they are so fast, their prey
stands little chance of getting out of the way in time.
Tiger beetles are pure predators, and feed on any smaller
9
A Green Tiger Beetle (Megacephala australis), one of
Australia’s largest species.
insect or spider that they happen to spot. They are found
throughout the world with only a few places where they are absent: Hawaii, Antarctica, the Maldives and Tasmania. We have
many species in Australia, most occurring in the dryer parts of
the country.As well as speed, tiger beetles are equipped with
some serious weaponry. They have enormous jaws (mandibles)
for their size, which are used for crushing and cutting prey.
Their mandibles are like long curved swords with daggers stick-
Vol 1 Issue 1
© Alan Henderson
A Grey Tiger Beetle, Cicindela species, one of the speedsters.
ing out of them. There is no mercy for the hapless prey of a tiger
beetle; on capture it is dismembered as it is consumed. As if this
doesn’t sound gruesome enough, tiger beetles ‘spit’ digestive
juices onto their prey as they are chewing it to start the digestive
process before they suck up the liquid mush.
Tiger beetles eyes are highly important to them, and their
eyes are very large for that reason. Like other insects, they have
compound eyes, and the size of their eyes gives them a wide
area of view. This allows them to easily locate the movement of
their prey.
Although some tiger beetles like to move around at night,
many are active in the heat of the day; particularly in hot
weather. Some are common on beaches where they run so
quickly that they can be confused with sandflies.
Young tiger beetles are called larvae and are hunters like
their parents. In some ways, they are even more savage than the
adults. The larvae are grub-like, with huge heads and powerful
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mandibles. They construct tunnels in the ground and wait just
below the surface for small animals to pass by. When they sense
something close to the entrance, their head snaps upward like a
miniature steel-jawed trap and drags the helpless prey into the
tunnel to be eaten.
Although their eating habits do not sound entirely endearing, many tiger beetles are quite elegant in their appearance.
These have intricate patterns on their elytra (modified wing covers) and others are iridescent purple, blue and green, and rival
butterflies for their colour and beauty.
♣
THE STATE OF SCORPION TAXONOMY IN AUSTRALIA
By Mark A. Newton BSc
T
he state of scorpion taxonomy in Australia is
not good as it’s been neglected for quite some
time, however the future does look a lot better.
The last revision of Australian scorpions was conducted by L.E. Koch and published in 1977.
Many new species of Urodacus were described,
which was a good thing, but unfortunately many
species of Buthid described by earlier researchers
were lumped. This lumping was most likely the
result of a lack of time available for a thorough
revision, as the work was part of a PhD. The Urodacus alone would have been incredibly time consuming and difficult with the Buthids a literal
nightmare in comparison. I can’t be sure, but I
feel Koch might have bitten off more than he
could chew. Nevertheless, his work was a landmark revision and a must to have if you study
scorpions.
In 1925, L. Glauert published a paper titled, ‘The Scorpions
of Western Australia’, which described the Buthids known at the
time along with some new species, it was quite a good revision
with good keys. It covered species from all over Australia, not
just WA. Many of these species were lumped in 1977 by Koch. I
still use the keys of Glauert to decipher between the different
forms of Buthid described at the time.
Other than these two major works there have been more recent revisions, resulting in the description of Lychas buchari,
and Isometrus bilyi by Kovarik. The Cercophonius were revised
by Louis Acosta and the one species Cercophonius squama was
split into 6 different species from prior recognised geographic
variants.
More recently we had Adam Locket from The University of
Adelaide bring a couple of species back from the lumping bin,
namely, Lychas jonesae and Isometroides angusticaudus. The
differences between some of these lumped forms is so great, it’s
hard to believe they could ever have been considered the same
species.
The greatest work to date, by the Western Australian taxonomist Erich Volschenk is yet to be published. Erich and associated workers have revised Australian Lychas, and are presently
working on Liocheles and Urodacus. The reason this work has
been ongoing for quite a few years now and is still unpublished
is indicative of the level of complexity taxonomists working in
this field face.
Why lump? The lumping might have been the result of a lack
of time, but it might have also been the result of the sheer difficulty Koch would have faced with old bottled specimens. Specimens housed in alcohol lose their colour and many can be shriv-
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eled due to the drying affect alcohol has. This matched to the
possibility of limited access to all the necessary holotypes for a
positive ID may have driven Koch into a safe route. If you read
the descriptions given by Koch you will notice the great range of
character variability he expresses, as for example he only recognised Lychas marmoreus and variatus in all the Lychas types he
examined. He also included Hemilychas alexandrinus in the
Lychas.
What is the difficulty with the taxonomy of scorpions? Scorpions are highly conservative morphologically. Even though
they have been around for literally hundreds of millions of years
we only see a maximum of about 2000 species worldwide, compare this to insect diversity and it’s a mere drop in the ocean.
For some reason scorpions are highly conservative. It might be
related to their long gestation periods, small brood numbers, low
metabolism or some other factor such as the lack of chromosomal chiasmata during metaphase of meiosis leading to less mixing of genes compared with other organisms. In contrast to the
conservative morphology we see significant geographical expansion and exploitation of a range of habitats. So what does
this mean to the taxonomist? The taxonomist must search for
physical characters to distinguish between forms. Very often
with scorpions there are very few characters that are consistent
enough to be used for the differentiation of species, a reflection
of the conservative morphology. In many cases there are greater
differences in the ecology of a form than the morphology. A
good example of this can be seen in Lychas buchari. This species is very common across inland South and Western Australia.
I have looked closely at different forms in South Australia, all of
which are virtually indistinguishable morphologically, although
there are some very minor differences, these are often not consistent enough to be useful. Each form occupies slightly different environments and as a result expresses a different physiological ability to survive in different environments.
There are however many distinctly different species and
these need to be recognised. The difficulty will be deciphering
the boundaries between forms as most species will display variation across a geographic distribution.
What does this mean to the Scorpion Hobbyist?
One of the first things you need to do is place less emphasis on
species and more on location and geographic variability. As I
have already mentioned, the physiology of a species can vary
across its distribution even more than its morphology. This
means that keeping individuals from one end of a geographic
distribution may require different keeping strategies to those
from the opposite end, even though they may be recognised as
the same species. I encounter this situation quite frequently,
being most obvious in animals that occupy different soil types.
Different soils hold water differently and as a result influence
the animal’s physiology. If you are really a keen scorpiologist,
it pays to know the location your animal comes from along with
what types of soil and vegetation predominate in the area. A
good example of this can be seen in Buthids occupying areas
around salt lakes in South Australia. As salt lakes are normally
surrounded by dunes, scorpions from the dune habitat have a
very different physiology to those from the surrounding rocky
hills. In this case the location is the same, but the habitats are
very different. The bottom line here is not to be hung up on
‘what species do I have?’ But rather work out which species
your animal keys out to and then keep track of its location and
Vol 1 Issue 1
habitat details. This logic will be important even after future revisions are published and there is increased clarity over species.
Presently there are 44 recognised species in Australia across 4 Families as shown below.
Urodacidae
Buthidae
Bothriuridae
Liochelidae
Urodacus
U armatus
U carinatus
U centralis
U elongatus
U excellens
U giulianii
U hartmeyeri
U hoplurus
U koolanensis
U lowei
U macrurus
U manicatus
U mckenziei
U megamastigus
U novaehollandiae
U planimanus
U similis
U spinatus
U varians
U yaschenkoi
Lychas
L marmoreus
L variatus
L buchari
L mjobergi
L jonesae
Cercophonius
C squama
C michaelseni
C granulosus
C sulcatus
C queenslandae
C kershawi
Liocheles
L waigiensis
L australasiae
L extensus
L karschii
L litodactylus
L polisorum
Isometrus
I melanodactylus
I maculatus
I bilyi
Australobuthus
A xerolimniorum
Hemilychas
H alexandrinus
Isometroides
I vescus
I angusticaudus
References:
ACOSTA, L.E. (1990). El genero Cercophonius Peters, 1861 (Scorpiones, Bothriuridae). Bol. Soc. Biol. Concepcion 61: 7-27
GLAUERT, L. 1925. Australian Scorpionidea. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia. 11(11): 89-118
KOCH, L.E. 1977. The taxonomy, geographic distribution and evolutionary radiation of Australo-Papuan scorpions. Records of the
West Australian Museum. 5: 83-367
KOVARIK, F. 1997. Revision of the genera Lychas and Hemilychas, with descriptions of six new species (Scorpiones: Buthidae).
Acta. Soc. Zool. Bohem. 61: 311-371
LOCKET, N.A. 1990. A new genus and species of scorpion from South Australia (BUTHIDAE: BUTHINAE). Transactions of the
Royal Society of South Australia. 114(2): 67-80
LOCKET, N.A. 1995. A new ischnurid scorpion from the Northern Territory, Australia. Records of the West Australian Museum
Supp. 52: 191-198
LOCKET, N.A. 1997. Liocheles extensa, a replacement name for Liocheles longimanus Locket, 1995 (Scorpiones: Ischnuridae).
Records of the West Australian Museum Supp. 18: 331
MONOD, L. & VOLSCHENK, E.S 2004. Liocheles litodactylus (SCORPIONES: LIOCHELIDAE): An unusual new Liocheles species from the Australian wet tropics (Queensland). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 49(2): 675-690
SHANAHAN, C.M. 1989. Cytogenetics of Australian Scorpions. II. Chromosome polymorphism in species of Urodacus (family
Scorpionidae). Genome 32:890–900
VOLSCHENK, E.S., SMITH, G.T. & HARVEY, M.S. 2000. A new species of Urodacus from Western Australia, with additional
descriptive notes for Urodacus megamastigus (Scorpiones). Records of the Western Australian Museum. 20: 57-67
VOLSCHENK, E.S., LOCKET, N.A. & HARVEY, M.S. 2001. First record of a troglobitic ischnurid scorpion from Australasia
(Scorpiones: Ischnuridae). Scorpions 2001. In Memorium Gary A. Polis. 162-170
12
♣
A Month of Tarantulas
by Charles Senescall 31 May 2008
Introduction
A
s a complete newcomer to the hobby of tarantula
keeping about the only thing certain so far is that it
is a very addictive and engrossing field. Prior to
getting started with my first Australian tarantula I ran into
Greg Bylund on the Australian Tarantula Association
(ATA) web site and was able to obtain a lot of useful information on keeping tarantulas from his web site and forum at
The Green Scorpion. My quest for obtaining my very own
tarantula had begun in earnest.
I was warned that I wouldn’t be able to stop at one tarantula. Of course I thought this was nonsense. Why would I want
more than one tarantula? By the end of my first month in the
hobby I now have nine tarantulas. Ok maybe I should pay more
attention to these old hands pouring advice down upon me from
above.
Genesis
I ordered my first pair of tarantulas from Steve Nunn. Note I
said pair. Even before getting my first specimen I was already
thinking about the possibility of future breeding prospects. The
13
Vol 1 Issue 1
spiders were juvenile Phlogius sp. “Goliath’s” (Figure 1) and I
obtained a male and a larger but still immature female. The rush
obtained opening those first two vials containing their precious
occupants was intoxicating. After two weeks I was feeling
much more comfortable with the tarantulas and their keeping
and decided on 3 Phlogius cf. papuanus slings from Greg Bylund. Again it was a rush opening the vials and studying my
second species for the first time. These were quickly followed
by 3 Wallace’s Bird Eater slings from Brendan Stent. I thought
this should be enough for my first foray into the hobby but then
a magnificent immature Phlogius sp. “Stents” came up for sale
from one of the forum members of The Green Scorpion and as I
had already decided this would be my next species I knew I had
to have her. She arrived by mail, all 80mm of her, and my largest specimen so far. Opening her specimen jar I almost had a
heart attack as I took in her size and wondered what they were
all going to look like fully grown! This was one chunky girl of
impressive girth for a novice keeper. After calming myself I put
her into my pre-prepared habitat and have been enjoying her
ever since. So much for self restraint. My wife asked if I had
enough tarantulas and I promised her I would be buying no more
that month. I made that promise on the 30th May. I managed to
keep it.
I had subscribed to the Australian Tarantula Association
(ATA) and read almost every post. I started asking more questions on the various forums I had joined including the British
Tarantula Society (BTS) forum, The American Tarantula Soci-
Vol 1 Issue 1
ety forum and the Malaysian Tarantula Society forum. I decided on their taxonomy and classification. I quickly found the 7 deto write to the Malaysian Tarantula Society and enquire as to scribed Australian species (see Table 1) and noted that with the
membership of their organisation but did not get a response back exception of a description of Coremiocnemis tropix by Raven in
from them despite their web site stating they encouraged an in- 2005 no work had been completed on new a newly discovered
ternational membership. Shelving that idea I decided to go Australian species description since 1907 and the work on the
straight to the top and emailed a question to the BTS regarding original described species since then was very much out of date,
their 4 unit course in tarantula sexing. I sent three emails to and being challenged (note that C. tropix will in all probability
various committee members and did not receive an answer to be shifted to Phlogius, Nunn 2007 ATA forum post). I needed
my enquiry so I gave that up, scratched my plans of joining the to get something together in order to at least have a working
BTS, and went back to The Green Scorpion Forum and started classification which, although not scientifically valid, would at
posting more questions and received good input. I wrote to the least enable me to talk about the various species with reasonable
owner of the Green Scorpion, Greg Bylund, congratulating him confidence that we were all talking about the same thing. I also
on so quickly developing an active participatory forum devoted noted calls from other enthusiasts for something similar. As
to the Australian species. I located the best text I could find on better placed people for various reasons have not step forward
Tarantula sexing (“Sex Determination of Immature Theraphosid with an updated list I compiled a table of species using names
Spiders from their
that seemed to be the
TABLE 1
Cast Skins” by
most commonly acKathleen and John
cepted by forum mem(L. Kock, 1874)
S. vulpina synonymous
Hancock, 1995) Selenocosmia crassipes
bers (Appendix 1). The
Hogg, 1901
S. stalkeri synonymous
and decided to or- Selenocosmia stirlingi
list will be updated
Selenocosmia strenua
(Thorell, 1881)
der it online.
form time to time as
Selenocosmia subvulpina
Strand, 1907
I
corrections are notified
Hogg, 1902
downloaded and Selenotholus foelschei
or new information
read dozens of sci- Selenotypus plumipes
comes to hand. It alPocock, 1895
entific and general Coremiocnemis tropix
most certainly contains
Raven, 2005
articles concerning
errors and should be
tarantulas, taxon- Table 1. List of currently described Australian species compiled by the author used only as a guide at
omy, the state of from Platnick’s World Spider Catalog v8.5
this point. It is hoped
the art in DNA
that this very rough
analysis of insect species, evolution of spiders, zoology of spi- overview will be of some assistance to new enthusiasts and will
ders, sexing juvenile and mature tarantulas – you get the picture. save them the many hours of research that were required to simI started analysing the various types of stereo dissecting micro- ply compile these species lists.
scopes that might prove useful in my quest to engage in deeper
Turning specifically to the Phlogius group for no other
documentation of my tarantulas as I wanted to be able to sex reason than it is the genus that I started with I have found them
juveniles and take extreme close up pictures of various features to be excellent for a beginner. They are a fast growing group of
using digital eyepieces. I also wanted to be able to measure the opportunistic burrowers. The males tend to survive a little
parts of specimens when using a microscope and did some basic longer than usual following their final moult and Greg Bylund
research on how to do this as well. My desired equipment list reports several instances of Phlogius males surviving for two
continued to expand. I purchased two texts on tarantula biology breeding seasons. One will often see reference made to the
and Australian spider species as well as a general text on Austra- Northern and Southern Phlogius groups on enthusiast sites so I
lian insects. I wondered if my new hobby was getting out of thought it would be useful for other beginning and intending
control but decided to put that matter aside as I had far too much keepers to put together a table of these groups for species availwork to do on tarantulas to be able to afford to be side tracked able relatively commonly in the hobby in Australia.
with hypothetical questions. I was beginning to see the basics
The Northern and Sothern Phlogius groupings are not
and realised it was going to take years to accumulate much real based on geographic location per se although Townsville,
knowledge due to the paucity of readily available published in- Queensland is the demarcation of the northern and southern
formation dealing with Australian tarantulas specifically.
groups. The distinguishing physical characteristics of the groupI decided to transfer my Australian Goliaths to a larger ings are discussed later. Phlogius sp. “Stents” is a species found
container after realising that the small plastic “delie” trays that I in Townsville and is regarded as a member of the northern group
was using were too small. By now I was more confident han- that occurs at the southern end of the northern species boundary
dling them with suitable tools and transferred the male using an and the northern end of the southern species boundary, that is,
upturned coke bottle with the bottom removed, a trick I had seen right in the middle. Phlogius sp. “Rockhampton” is the only
on one of the many web sites I visited. Unfortunately when it species from the southern group that is found not only in coastal
came to the female I was a little overconfident and she shot out central Queensland but also outside its southern geographic area
of her container with incredible speed. Fortunately I was able to in far North Queensland.
manoeuvre her into an empty fish tank and retrieve her safely
The list below (Table 2) is based on my own research
from there and place her in her new enclosure. I saw how ag- into material appearing in many posts on the ATA forum and
gressively defensive she could be and also how fast!
The Green Scorpion forum. This table should be regarded as a
work in progress. The Phlogius genus is used for all species
although it is not official at the moment. Schmidt (1995) resurSpecies
I wanted to know much more about the spiders I kept and about rected Phlogius, however, it should be noted, that although Dr.
Australian tarantulas in general and starting working on readings Raven (2000) rejected Schmidt’s resurrection he set it aside for
Australian species of Selenocosmia pending a cladistic analysis
14
of the group (Raven 2005). Officially however Phlogius remains a junior synonym to Selenocosmia. Since most enthusiasts and amateur researchers such as Steve Nunn refer to the
Selenocosmia group as Phlogius and since Raven in his 2005
paper clearly supports Phlogius as a valid genus (although
Schmidt’s attempted resurrection was rejected by Raven as
Schmidt did not clearly define the boundaries to describe the
genus) that is how I will refer to those species. In addition Selenocosmia stirlingi is likely to be transferred to Selenotholus
(Nunn, ATA forum 2006) and I have adopted that classification.
The use of Phlogiellus is considered outdated and at present this
genus is regarded as occurring only in South East Asia. Until
Raven or someone else finally sorts out the basic classifications
this whole area remains open. As most readers would be aware
there are only 7 described species at present (Table 1) thus necessitating the use by the hobby of unofficial Latin names or
common names as it races ahead of the mostly very dated published and peer reviewed material. At the very least the hobby
can name species to enable some classification based on comments by Raven, Nunn and others and when the matter is resolved appropriate names can be substituted and the entire table
no doubt will require revision. Also note that the species themselves are in a state of flux and debate as to whether the Stents,
Red Stents and Rubiseta are all synonymous continues. Finally
there are several new species that do not appear in the list as
they are not available to the hobby in general and they have
therefore been excluded. There are also species of which Nunn
and others are aware but have not discussed specifically in the
public forums. No doubt there are dozens, probably many dozens of new species waiting to be discovered and described.
the northern from the southern group if the foveal groove is less
in width than the ocular tubercle then the species belongs in the
southern Phlogius group. For the northern group the foveal
groove is the same size or smaller than the ocular tubercle.
Other distinguishing characteristics exist and they may be dealt
with in a later article together with generalised working keys for
the Australian species.
Conclusion
The first month in the hobby has been a fast and furious journey.
There is so much more to write about simply based on the observations of expert enthusiasts and on our own observations and
experiences. This short article is intended only as an overview
from a beginner’s point of view and I hope to continue with this
exciting field for many years to come. Oh yes, and if any reader
has a few Phlogius sp. “Black” or strenuus slings available
could they please contact me urgently on The Green Scorpion
web site.
Table 2
Northern Group:
Phlogius strenuus
Phlogius sp. “Black”
Phlogius sp. “Goliath”
Phlogius cf. papuanus
Phlogius sp. “Stents” (Townsville - southern end of range
of northern group)
Phlogius sp. “Red Stents” (Red form of P. sp. “Stents” and
found as far north as Cairns)
Phlogius sp. “Rubiseta” (Still under investigation and possibly synonymous with P. sp. “Stents”)
Phlogius sp. “pq113” (synonymous with pq118)
Southern Group:
Phlogius crassipes
Phlogius crassipes “Eunice” (currently considered a more
colourful variant of P. crassipes)
Phlogius pseudocrassipes
Phlogius vulpina (in synonymy with P. crassipes)
Phlogius subvulpina (incertae sedis according to Steve
Nunn)
Phlogius sp. “Sarina”
Phlogius sp. “Rockhampton” (but also found Far North
QLD)
Table 2. Northern and Southern groupings of Phlogius
species in Australia compiled by author
As to the actual physical characteristics which separate
15
Vol 1 Issue 1
Appendix 1 – Working Species Listing (Unofficial)
Coremiocnemis Simon, 1892
Coremiocnemis tropix Raven, 2005
Coremiocnemis sp. 2
Dwarf form
Phlogius
Phlogius crassipes
Phlogius pseudocrassipes
Possible subspecies of P. crassipes
Phlogius cf. papuanus
Phlogius strenuus
Phlogius subvulpina
Incertae sedis according to Steve Nunn
Phlogius vulpina
Possible junior synonym to P. crassipes
Phlogius sp. “Black”
Phlogius sp. “Eunice”
Possible variant to P. crassipes
Phlogius sp. “Goliath” (Aust Goliath)
Phlogius sp. “pq113” (Blue Leg)
Synonymous with P. sp. “pq118”
Phlogius sp. “Rockhampton”
Phlogius sp. “Rubiseta”
Possibly synonymous with P. sp. “Stents”
Phlogius sp. “Sarina”
Phlogius sp. “Stents” (Stent’s Birdeater)
Phlogius sp. “Red Stents”
Red form of P. sp. “Stents”
Selenotholus Hogg, 1902
Selenotholus foelschei Hogg, 1902
Selenotholus stirlingi
North and southern forms
Selenotholus sp. “CT”
Selenotholus sp. “Glenelva”
Selenotholus sp. “Gold”
Selenotholus sp. “Townsville”
Selenotholus sp. “Wallace’s Birdeater”
Selenotypus Pocock, 1895
Selenotypus plumipes Pocock, 1895 sp. 1 – northern form (Featherleg Tarantula)
Selenotypus sp. “2”
Selenotypus sp. “Nebo”
southern form – ex S. plumipes
Selenotypus sp. “Gemfields”
Selenotypus sp. “Tahnee”
New Undescribed Genus
“Rattlesnake Tarantula”
New genus and species discovered 2008
16
Vol 1 Issue 1
Vol 1 Issue 1
References:
1. American Arachnological Society, http://www.americanarachnology.org/ (2008)
2. American Tarantula Society website and forum, http://atshq.org/ (2008)
3. Arachnology Home Page, http://www.arachnology.be/Arachnology.html (2008)
4. Australian Tarantula Association website and forum, http://theata.org/ (2008)
5. Australasian Arachnological Society, http://www.australasian-arachnology.org/ (2008)
6. British Tarantula Society website and forum, http://www.thebts.co.uk/ (2008)
7. Bylund, G., The Green Scorpion website and forum, http://thegreenscorpian.com.au (2008)
8. Foelix, R. F., Biology of Spiders, 2nd edition, Oxford University Press (1996) 213
9. Fossil Groups and The Evolution of Chelicerata, http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/Palaeofiles/Fossilgroups/Chelicerata/fossils.html University of Bristol, (2008)
10. Malaysian Tarantula Society website and forum, http://www.mtsociety.com/ (2008)
11. Platnick, N. I., The World Spider Catalog v8.5, http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/ (2008)
12. Raven, R. J., A New Tarantula Species from Northern Australia, Zootaxa 1004 (2005) 15
13. Raven, R. J., The Spider Infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): Cladistics and Systematics, Bulletin of The American Museum
of Natural History Vol 182 (1985) 1
Special mention is made of the hundreds of posts by Steve Nunn on various online forums worldwide which have not been specifically cited and which provided invaluable assistance in the preparation of this article.
17
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Vol 1 Issue 1

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