Just as the title says, I found this spider making its way across my front lawn (I live in small town oklahoma) and it doesn't look like any of the spiders I've seen around here before. Anyone who can tell me gets an e-hug
Pic numero uno:
http://i26.tinypic.com/33ti1xt.jpg
Pic numero dos (a bit fuzzy, my dad took the pic not me):
http://i28.tinypic.com/1zv7g9d.jpg

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Fake tarantula.

In my very unlearned opinion that is definitely some kind of bird eating spider, looks a lot like a Sydney Brown Trapdoor Spider (Yes, it happens - recessive IIRC) but you wouldn't have those there unless it's a rogue pet. Maybe there are very similar spideys in your part of the world. "Trapdoor" is one hugeass fucken genre after all - like mammals with opposable thumbs.

It's kind of a toss up of what to do - if it belongs in the wilds there then you shouldn't remove it, especially from it's territory..

..but on the other hand it might get killed in an urban area/die from exposure if it's alien. If it is a venemous* species then maybe you should lean more to the relocate/keep as pet side (or sell to a good spider-man), I imagine it'd be worth a fair bit of money). But venemous or not they can give you a nasty bite, check your shoes and such thoroughly from now on.


*I think SHARP might have said true bird eating spiders weren't venemous though & from reading SHARP's posts, that this spider is probably a female, cos it's big.

EDIT: And by the way, I don't want your shitty hug - but some moderator leniency next time I fuck up would be nice.

By the way my camera has a tendency to blow things up to make them bigger, the spider that was in my yard yesterday was about the size of my palm with all its legs spread out.

I live in Oklahoma if that helps any.

Edit: And by the way Kwinnie, I wasn't going to give you my shitty hug anyway, you didn't exactly identify it now did you?

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It's a birdeater for sure, but besides that it's impossible to identify because it isn't necessarily a spider native to your area (although I'd assume it is) - it could've been someone's pet that got away.

Assuming it's a native spider, it's an Aphonopelma hentzi or "Oklahoma Brown Tarantula", as far as I know, that's the only birdeating spider living in your area, but if you live close to another state there could be some habitat overlapping so the species might be a bit off but the genus is as close as you'll get.

Also, the genus Aphonopelma contains some 90+ species, and is the most species-rich genus in Theraphosidae (the birdeaters), and the lack of distinctive features or markings makes it impossible to say with 100% certainty exactly what species it is.
Another reason is that they come in several color variations.

Seeing one of these spiders outside at the moment is a bit out of the ordinary, from what I can tell, it's not a mature male looking for a female - it looks too plump to be a mature male, and it's too early for mating season, so I have no idea why it'd run around on your lawn in broad daylight.

Next time you see one of these fellas running around, try getting a good look at the front legs, if they have a little spur pointing forward, located on the middle of the leg on the inside/underside, it's a mature male, and thus most likely a native species.

I'd say you'll probably see more of them in the next two months or so.

EDIT: They aren't considered aggressive, and their venom isn't very potent, if you got bitten it'd probably be no worse than a bee sting or two, but of course there'd be the mechanical damage from the fangs, a birdeater of the size you described would have fangs around 7-8 mm long.

Nah, I've said that by far most birdeaters possess a venom that's close to negligible medically speaking, but they all have venom.

*gives the man a hug*

It was a very nice spider too. Very friendly, put my hand in front of it and it crawled right on no problem whatsoever, didn't show any signs of aggression at all. Tried to tell my grandma it was harmless so she would let it live, but she wouldn't let me or my dad back in the house til she saw its demise. I still feel sorry for it, it would have made a great pet from the looks of it.

BTW it's been pretty warm and humid lately, so we've been seeing a lot of spiders out lately, especially large ones. I still wish I'd gotten a pic of the one that was in the back yard last week, its leg span was about an inch shorter than my foot, and my feet are about 1 ft even. It was a different species than the one yesterday though.

Edit again: And from your description it was a female then, because it didn't have any spurs or anything like that on its front legs.

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Can't say I'm surprised.

Next time, just scoop it up in something with a lid on, and relocate it to somewhere else.
If it's a male - spurs on the front legs, longer legs in general, and smaller abdomen - I think it'd appreciate being relocated to an area with lots of holes in the ground because that's where the ladies are.

To be honest, spiders aren't exactly social animals, but they do make great pets.

Sounds like all this global warming is screwing around with their mating cycle...
Oh well, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

Now that sounds like a male.
If you spot one some day, don't bother keeping it as a pet, it'll die shortly after, better get a female - they can live for a very long time, according to some accounts in the neighbourhood of 20 years or so...

What did it look like?

Hmm, I wonder what it was doing on your front lawn, it shouldn't even be out of its retreat during the day, let alone during mating season...

Sounds like my back yard x.x



I've always wanted a pet tarantula. Dad says if we find another he wants to keep it as a pet and just make sure to keep the lid on its enclosure really secure so my grandma doesn't go nuts

Oklahoma just tends to get warm and humid during the early summer months and my grandma's back yard has lots of rocks and holes and shit like that to hide under. Yesterday I had to put a wood chisel through a scorpion because it was going for my dad's foot. He was dumbass enough to walk around the back yard barefoot and was standing on its home.

Probably was, didn't really bother getting a close look at that one because I'd seen smaller ones like that before around

Black and brown abdomen with black legs with some of the hairs having greyish tips

We have a very spider friendly yard. I saw a web earlier leading under an old rotten stump, that's either where that one lived or the one last week, really doesn't matter to me, but it's probably a good thing my granny can't get over there with her wheelchair, she'd probably freak out and take a can of raid to it or some shit like that.

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If there's silk around the holes, there's a good chance someone's home, if the entrance is covered, someone is home.

Sounds like the kind of guy I'd buy a beer.

When the mating season starts, they (the males) molt one last time before heading out in the search of some company, it's most likely the temperature and humidity that starts the cycle - as the temperature rises their level of activity follows suit, and the increased air humidity helps them shed their old exoskeleton, so as I said earlier, you'll probably see more of them.

Hey, if I had a pointy ass full of venom and some dude decided to do a Fred Astaireesque tap-dance on my house, I'm pretty sure I'd slam the business end of previously mentioned pointy ass into his foot too.

If it looked anything like this, it probably was an A. hentzi...
http://www.sainverts.com/HentziF1.jpg/HentziF1-full;init:.jpg

This is the most common color variation, but they come in any shade from the one in the picture, to a light tan.

*Gets a mental image...*

Someone's home!



He's not a big drinker

Yeah, summers in my town have always involved a lot of heat and a lot of humidity, probably why we see so many spiders and all sorts of other cool crawly/slithery things here. That and it's a small town where no one really gives a shit about their lawn, so more hidey holes for them.

Yeah, but it was either let the bastard sting my dad and drive 30 miles to the nearest hospital to get him checked out with no driver's license or put the wood chisel I was using through the scorpion, I chose the one less likely to get me arrested.

Looks almost exactly like it Damn you're good

If my grandma didn't have brittle bones and a fear of holding firearms I could definitely see her doing something like that.

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