Monday, August 13, 2007

NEWS ON THE TARANTULA


Guys,

I got the news from Dr Peter Koomen about the tarantula. Sounds good. Here's the excerp from his email to me:


Very nice photograph! Still it was not easy to identify. From the details I can see in the picture, I am quite convinced now that it is a Cyriopagopus, maybe even C. schioedtei (Thorell, 1891). To be sure, I have to do a few measurements and to check stridulation bristles between appendages. Luckely this will be possible, because you preserved the spider in alcohol (and not pinned and dried). If it is C. sch., then you have found this species for the first time on Borneo. Officially it is only known from West-Malaysia. It may, of course, also be a new species. Anyway, a very nice addition to the Borneensis Collection.


Here's the tarantula for you guys to see - I hope you have never seen it!


Hamid.

2 comments:

kalsum said...

hahahahaah....
being as ignorant as I am on spiders, theres an old lady here at the zoology department saying that she wants to visit Borneo but so afraid of Tarantula. And my reply was, "no no no, theres not as much of poisonous spiders crawling in Borneo!". and looking at this picture, if she decides to go and being very unfortunate to get bitten by the spider, I'll be the one who get blamed. :D
~sigh~

Amid said...

Sure!
But within these few days I've learned much enough to know that tarantulas do not kill people. And there're aren't many of them - it will be difficult for arachnologist to find half-a-tarantula, even for Peter Koomen.

Hamid.