Double-Clutching In Two Female Poecilotheria sp. 'Highland'

摘要

Poecilotheria is a genus of tree-dwelling theraphosid spiders from South East Asia (Nanayakkara and Vishvanath 2011, Samarawckrama et al. 2005). Within this genus, one particular species, Poecilotheria subfusca, has evoked controversy and heated arguments among tarantula hobbyists. This Sri Lankan species was first described by Pocock in 1895, and has several junior synonyms. For some time, Poecilotheria subsfusca was considered to have a "Lowland" and "Highland" form. This "Highland" form is now thought to be a separate species in need of a proper binomial name (Jacobi 2016). Pending a taxonomic review, it should simply be referred to as Poecilotheria sp. "Highland" (Jacobi 2016) and herein it will be referred to as such. The main argument for this is the fact that the two forms do not interbreed (Jacobi 2016).