Posted by gcube on February 18, 2003 at 23:42:06:
In Reply to: Found near Santa Cruz CA - what is it? posted by gcube on February 15, 2003 at 21:16:12:
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I sent an email message to a Dr. Vincent (a professor at Fullerton College) and he was kind enough to reply. I also found some additional links based on his information. Here's his reply:
"How nice, and unusual, to get a good physical and behavioral description. I am sure that your spider is in the genus Calisoga (formerly Brachythele) and in the family Nemesiidae (formerly Dipluridae). I mention the old names in case you have an opportunity to look up the spider in older yet common spider books (American Spiders by Gertsch and How to Know the Spiders by Kaston). I too remember how aggressive Calisoga is. You should not try to pick it up with your hands, it will bite. Although the common name is funnel-web tarantula, it is not a true tarantula. California tarantulas are docile and can be picked up by hand.
"Your find is a significant new location record for this spider. If convenient and you could collect them safely, I would appreciate a few pickled specimens (rubbing alcohol would work). I would see to it that they got sent to the right museum.
Cheers,
Lenny Vincent
In a message dated 2/16/03 9:42:43 AM, gcube writes:
Dear Dr. Vincent:
During some recent research I came across your name associated with an article in the OC Metro:
