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Mygalomorph Trapdoor Spider,
Kempner, TX: 111208
 The
photo on the right was taken by Marvin
W., in Kempner, TX on 111208. Marvin and his wife recently moved
to Texas from the frigid northwest (Washington state). Not being
familiar with the size of our Texas tarantulas, he first suspected this
to be one. As both are orthognaths in the infraorder Mygalomorphae, they
share a number of gross anatomical features. However, the leg span of this male (note the
swollen distal palps) is about half that of the average Texas tarantula.
It may be one of two species of wafer trapdoor spiders found in Texas (Eucteniza
rex and E. stolida), a true trapdoor spider in the family Ctenizidae,
or a member of one of the other six families of North American
Mygalomorphae. In the following pages we will home in on its identity
using the keys in
Ubick et al, [2005], pp. 25-37. Marvin's wife, a now-repentant arachnophobe,
sprayed the first of these spiders--which she found on their back patio
just after a cool, autumn rain--with a pesticide. The next morning
Marvin found this one, on the same patio. He captured it and took
several photos. After looking Marvin's photos over, I asked to borrow
the spider for microscopic work, but this one had already been released.
Marvin kindly retrieved the remains of the first
for me to work with. Macroscopic images of that specimen follow on the
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TERMITE ENCOUNTERS *
SNAKE ENCOUNTERS * SNAKE
BITE FIRST AID *
SNAKE
EXCLUSION *
SPIDER
ENCOUNTERS *
SPIDER
BITE FIRST AID *
SPIDER
EXTERMINATION
*
PUSS CATERPILLAR ENCOUNTERS *
PUSS CATERPILLAR FIRST AID *
PUSS CATERPILLAR EXTERMINATION
*
Assembled & Edited by
Jerry Cates. Questions? Corrections? Comments?
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