What About
Us:- The forgotten Tarantulas of the Hobby
by Lucian
"Luc" Ross
With a
plethora of ever new and wonderful species
entering our hobby from all over the globe,
at no time has the hobbyist been in such a lush
paradise of tarantula species to chose from for
his/her collection.
Brazilopelma, Vitalius,
Poecilotheria, Tapinauchenius, and many new
species from genera both old and new inundate the
dealer's and breeder's lists in the US and
Europe.
But, what of those tarantulas
that opened the door for all these new and
interesting species? Those tarantulas that we all
started with back in the infant stages of the
hobby:
Grammostola rosea, Brachypelma
albopilosum, Phormictopus cancerides,
Cyclosternum fasciatum, Avicularia avicularia,
Psalmopoeus cambridgei, Pterinochilus murinus,
Pterinochilus sp. 'sambara' and one of my
favorites, Aphonopelma seemanni.
These were tarantulas that we
dreamed of adding to our collections and
cherished as we set about designing their
vivaria. We proudly displayed them in their new
vivaria for family and friends and took such
great pride in these magnificent creatures.
Several years ago, my dream was
to own what I still consider to be one of the
most magnificent tarantulas in the hobby. Big,
bold, fearless, and incredibly beautiful in
shades of reddish-brown. The beast? Hysterocrates
gigas, the 'Cameroon Rust-Red'. In my mind, this
magnificent creature represented the epitome of
collecting in the hobby and anyone without one
just wasn't a true hobbyist!
To this day, I still have that
girl. She is still one of my most magnificent
tarantulas and shall always be the highlight of
my collection. She, along with countless other
'dime-a-dozen' species that many hobbyists
wouldn't even consider placing in their spider
rooms next to that choice Hyaterocrates scepticus
or Aphonopelma bicoloratum!
But, because of recent
commonality, it seems that these once magnificent
tarantulas have been relegated to the status of
purely tarantulas for the new comers into the
hobby and those that are not considered as
dedicated as the purist (specialist)! Poor
Heteroscodra maculata. Once considered one of the
finest gems in the hobby now simply 'one of THOSE
tarantulas'! Did they really lose their beauty
and magnificence or did we in our quest for more,
bigger, and supposedly better, lose the ability
to still marvel at the intricate beauty of an
adult H. maculata? Did we forget how delighted we
were to possess that 3" Cyclosternum
fasciatum that no one else had yet? And, what
about that first Aphonopelma seemanni? Big and
robust, striking-white leg stripes on black. I
stared at mine for hours, everyday when I first
got her home. And yes! She still resides in my
collection as one of my fondest species. Sure,
she may not be as fancy as A. geniculata and she
may be a little slow now due to age but, she
taught me how to truly marvel at the lives of
these splendid creatures. And, most importantly,
she was that informative book into the life of a
theraphosid that no one has written yet!
As many within the hobby know, I
maintain quite a collection of New and Old World
arboreals and these tree-dwelling denizens are to
me the most magnificent creatures within the
tarantula kingdom and hopefully, they will always
fill this niche in my life.
But, within my collection there
will always exist members of the 'dime-a-dozen'
tarantula species as in my years involved in this
hobby, I can't for the life of me figure out what
price has to do with the quest for knowledge and
our interests?
So, take that money put aside
for that Brazilopelma and rush out and grab you
up a P. murinus or an A. seemanni for your
collection and enjoy
the true magnificence these creatures truly offer
the collector, beginner or expert alike!
For
Kelly Swift and his tireless dedication to
breeding.
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