Hysterocrates "Nigeria"

[Graylord]

Hi all ,does anyone know if these spiders doing the rounds have an ID .

Has anyone bought one from TSS as i'm wondering what size they are ,he has them listed as SA.

Cheers

[Poxicator]

oh the open book that is Hysterocrates, long awaited taxonomy work required, hence locational name. Nigeria is a big African country, not know for its humble peaceful way, something that's deterred my arachnologists from venturing in. Of course the almost mythical H. hercules was found in the extreme North of Nigeria, just head up the A1

[Ben.M]

I love what Lee's written for "Disposition:" of that species on TSS Sorry I can't really help with your question, it says 15cm on there but I think that's a bit of a guess.

[Graylord]

Originally Posted by Poxicator

oh the open book that is Hysterocrates, long awaited taxonomy work required, hence locational name. Nigeria is a big African country, not know for its humble peaceful way, something that's deterred my arachnologists from venturing in. Of course the almost mythical H. hercules was found in the extreme North of Nigeria, just head up the A1

So you reckon the "Hercules" bit of his description is a red herring then?

I think your way off with your geography everyone knows the A1 leads you into cameroon via Durham

[Ben.M]

Originally Posted by Graylord

So you reckon the "Hercules" bit of his description is a red herring then?

I think your way off with your geography everyone knows the A1 leads you into cameroon via Durham

Have a read of this,

The Tarantula Store -> Hysterocrates spp.

[Poxicator]

Well, I'm not too clued up on African's tbh. I know about the P. murinus, Ive kept and bred C. darlingi and C. marshalli and over 6 sacs of OBTs but the 10 x H. gigas I had I gave away to visitors of my first Essex Meet.
However, the H. hercules is full of intrigue. Ive listend to Andrew Smith's adventures of trying to find them and failing due to the baked hard ground, Ive listened to the attempt to go searching for them with the BBC (which failed due to complete lack of insurance) and Ive read plenty on forums with various references.
There is only 1 of these in existence, as a holotype at the NHM, provided by Pocock, who apparently didnt study spermatheca!
They come from an area that nobody wants to go to. Its an extremely dangerous place to go, you'd be lucky to come back with your life never mind the tarantula. And, as its a very arid area with small tribes you're not likely to just melt into the community. Nor are you likely to just live off the land! To risk all that so that you can sell a spider, priced on TSS for less than £40 just doesnt add up.
However, although the holotype was found in Jabba, it could be that these are found elsewhere. The big question is how can someone claim to have H. hercules when they havent studied the holotype? We have ourselves an enigma

I prefer his description for H. cameroon for a few laughs:
<i>Hysterocrates gigas</i><br>Rusty Red Baboon (AF) Suppliers of Arachnids and other quality Invertebrates

[Colosseum]

Check Steve's out its a little beast not sure where he got his from but here is the thread Hysterocrates sp. 'Nigeria'

[mattykyuss]

they are about 4 inch ,i have one ,the reason tss are saying maybe hercules sp is that these nigeria sp have thin rear legs ,mine is a savage like stevebugs said about his ,i think steve and somebody from bts are looking into these abit deeper ,i thought if they might be hercules ,they might of been alot bigger as sub adults ,but there not slings ,and not adults ,so i guess they have to say something about the size ,mat

[Poxicator]

And therein lies another part of the myth, that these challenge Theraphosa in size, which isnt the case.
I'd guess the best person to look into these, and has looked into them over a number of years, even with one of Ray Gabriel's possible Hercules, (which also had thin legs) is Richard Gallon. But you can see the difficulty he has in the thread within T-store.

[Baldpoodle]

Originally Posted by Poxicator

Well, I'm not too clued up on African's tbh. I know about the P. murinus, Ive kept and bred C. darlingi and C. marshalli and over 6 sacs of OBTs but the 10 x H. gigas I had I gave away to visitors of my first Essex Meet.
However, the H. hercules is full of intrigue. Ive listend to Andrew Smith's adventures of trying to find them and failing due to the baked hard ground, Ive listened to the attempt to go searching for them with the BBC (which failed due to complete lack of insurance) and Ive read plenty on forums with various references.
There is only 1 of these in existence, as a holotype at the NHM, provided by Pocock, who apparently didnt study spermatheca!
They come from an area that nobody wants to go to. Its an extremely dangerous place to go, you'd be lucky to come back with your life never mind the tarantula. And, as its a very arid area with small tribes you're not likely to just melt into the community. Nor are you likely to just live off the land! To risk all that so that you can sell a spider, priced on TSS for less than £40 just doesnt add up.
However, although the holotype was found in Jabba, it could be that these are found elsewhere. The big question is how can someone claim to have H. hercules when they havent studied the holotype? We have ourselves an enigma

I prefer his description for H. cameroon for a few laughs:
<i>Hysterocrates gigas</i><br>Rusty Red Baboon (AF) Suppliers of Arachnids and other quality Invertebrates

Nobody wishes to go to??? with attractions in Kwara state like Owu Falls, the Imoleboja Rock Shelter, Ogunjokoro, Kainji Lake National Parks and Agbonna Hill I find this hard to believe.
You say extremely dangerous and would be lucky to come out alive? why is this? Have you been there?
Here is something that although does not say it is as safe as...as what you may consider safe?? but it is not as mellow dramatic as you make it out:-
Is Nigeria somewhere to visit as a tourist? | WordTravels Forum
Someone even compares south africa as being a whole lot worse! sure you need your jabs and you need your common sense like you need them when travelling in any 3rd world county but lets not put everyone off completely. If you know what you are doing you could very well live of the land, ray mears not to mention some of the natives seem to be able why not someone else?

BTW Jabba or Jabba Desilijic Tiureis to give his full name is a large slug/worm like alien species called a hutt that are said to come from the planet Varl in Starwars literature, (although they adopted a different planet called Nal Hutta) Jabba though lived on Tatooine as a crime lord but was strangled by Leia Organa on his sail barge.

However Jebba is the town on the upper niger river in Kwara state in the west of Nigeria. Did andrew smith look here?