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Thread: Some cool desert species I captured the past couple of weeks..

  1. #1
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    Default Some cool desert species I captured the past couple of weeks..

    The past few weeks I've been making regular trips to imperial county, all over the place in the desert. Ive been finding some neat stuff.. here are all the species I've collected, so far..

    Scorpions/other arachnids:

    Hadrurus arizonensis -'Giant desert-hairy scorpion'




    These are big scorpions, the one pictured is nearly 6" long with the tail stretched out.. they're common around washes, where sand has deposits of clay, making the sediment stable and perfect for burrowing. They look fearsome, and can be quite mean, but generally, they seem to find humans more-so of a curiosity than a threat.

    Smeringurus mesaensis -'Giant sand scorpion'




    Another large species, found in transient dunes and washes, where sand is dominant, and fine.

    Smeringurus vachoni immanis (no common name)

    Female:

    Male:


    This species I was quite excited to find, they're by no means common, and only like a particular habitat type- rocky cliffs and hills, with cobbled soil, with large boulders strewn about. unlike S. mesaensis, these arent dune dwellers, and prefer to climb on rocks. These scorpions display sexual dimorphism- males have huge claws, and extremely long tails, not to mention they're much more aggressive than females.

    Serradigitus subtilimanus (no common name, but the species name means 'long and slender-handed')



    Extremely rare. Known from only a few specimens. Even rarer, is the fact that this specimen i caught is pallid, normally they're dark. Very very fast, skittish and quick to sting.

    Paravaejovis waeringi (no common name) (top is a pallid dune-morph, bottom is a specimen from a rocky wash)




    Small, but very aggressive. They're yet another species that's quick to sting. the one pictured nailed me good, venom is painful, but extremely short-lived. effects are non-noticeable within three minutes of the sting.

    Eremobates sp 'Camel-spider/Windscorpion



    This large specimen was found in ocotillo wells, running around, looking for prey. After capturing her, I tossed in a large adult antlion, which she ripped apart with great relish

    BEETLES:

    Asbolus verrucosus, the Blue death-feigning beetle.



    Very popular pets, a single beetle is worth $10.00 or more, depending on the current supply and demand trends. I sell them for $5.00, but even when I do this, i have cheapskates trying to lowball me. lol, really? at any rate, they're really cool beetles, very social.

    Asbolus laevis, Smooth death-feigning beetle



    Not as well known, only found in areas where dunes remain intact in imperial county, they have a smooth dark shell, with a bluish coating. They're far more active and social, behaving like ants, almost.

    Edrotes ventricosus- 'Inflated' darkling beetle (bottom two specimens in pic below)



    Common in our deserts, these hilarious looking beetles also make a noise similar to the warning sound velvet ants produce when harassed.

    Eusattus dilatatus 'wide dune beetle'



    rare, and only found within the imperial sand dunes region, these beetles are so specialized, that they cannot survive without fine sand. They have an attractive golden ring around the pronotum.

    Cryptoglossa muricata 'Murex death-feigning beetle'



    Common, but not well known due to their nomadic habits. Quite striking beetles, very tough, often seen wandering around during the height of summer, when even desert iguanas are seeking refuge from the heat.

    Asidina confluens 'Confluent darkling beetle'



    A strange species, which is found around Palo verde trees in the imperial deserts, they're more solitary and difficult to care for

    TARANTULAS

    Aphonopelma iodius



    Beautiful enormous tarantulas, my female is 5.5" in diagonal legspan, very docile (unless you screw with her enclosure).

    Her male suitor, pictured below, is much smaller..

    Last edited by smokehound; 10-02-2014 at 10:00 PM.

  2. #2
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    Those creatures are amazing,really cool to see those excellent pics,mind blowing how many species on this earth many of us have no knowledge about t,thanks I learned a lot!

    Cya Tuna Vic

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    I always love when you post these threads. You're knowledge in Taxonomy and classification in those Phyla always impress me. The pics are always good too!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stormcrow
    I always love when you post these threads. You're knowledge in Taxonomy and classification in those Phyla always impress me. The pics are always good too!
    Thanks! I had a great time out there, hoping to return very soon. For now, I'm going to resume exploring coastal southern california.. unfortunately, however, Orange county is ridiculous when it comes to laws against collecting. Almost every piece of suitable undisturbed habitat is private property, and this infuriates me. Even worse, the habitats are soon to be annihilated in the near future when companies like chevron and their ilk decide to build housing tracts on what little remains of our natural lands.. I sure wish all the people whining about yellow-legged frogs and our oceans would pay more attention to the animals that aren't 'cute'.. because of these people, literally thousands of species are in serious danger of extinction. In orange county alone, there are some 10 unnamed species of tarantula, many scorpions that havent even been described, and many more..

    I like Imperial county. They seem to find a way to make both recreational visitors and naturalists happy. Plus they actually let you camp for free...

    Quote Originally Posted by TUNAVIC
    Those creatures are amazing,really cool to see those excellent pics,mind blowing how many species on this earth many of us have no knowledge about t,thanks I learned a lot!
    You're welcome. I always enjoy sharing my knowledge.

  5. #5
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    Wow! Those are some neat critters you got dude. I'm bound to run into one of these during my adventures.

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    Pretty cool SH. I was there 3 1/2 years and never saw a tarantula. Many species/wildlife around the toxic New River too.
    DR

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    Quote Originally Posted by TUNAVIC View Post
    Those creatures are amazing,really cool to see those excellent pics,mind blowing how many species on this earth many of us have no knowledge about t,thanks I learned a lot!

    Cya Tuna Vic
    Well said and very true...

  8. #8
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    that's cool. The scorpion claws almost look appetizing in a sea-food kind of way.

    Question(s): Back in my single days I used to mountain bike quite a bit and we would see tarantulas in the Santa Monica mtns. usually starting around October-ish. We also saw what looked like giant, black wasps - and once we (thought) we saw one of these wasps dragging a tarantula along the road.

    Did we see what we thought we saw or had we simply eaten too many mountain biker vitamins begun hallucinating? Is there a local insect that hunts and kills spiders? If so, what are they?

  9. #9
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    Fantastic photos smokehound. Thanks for sharing with us!

    You know, you could take photo's of your collection with some sort of high contrast substrate and make some excellent (tattoo) flash templates. Especially the scorpions.

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    Quote Originally Posted by City Dad View Post
    Did we see what we thought we saw or had we simply eaten too many mountain biker vitamins begun hallucinating? Is there a local insect that hunts and kills spiders? If so, what are they?
    Tainted Dodger Dogs. That's gotta be it.

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