Tarantulas in New Zealand

zooboy28

zooboy28

Well-Known Member
Starting a new thread cos this is about more than just Wellington Zoo's recent import (106 spiders of 6 species).

We do actually have a surprisingly large number of species already, I have seen at least six species in the last year:

Species in New Zealand:

-Mexican Red Knee Tarantula (Auckland, Canterbury Museum)
-Costa Rican Zebra Tarantula (Butterfly Creek)
-Pink-toed Tarantula (Otago Museum, Butterfly Creek)
-King Baboon Tarantula (Butterfly Creek)
-Thailand Black Tarantula (Butterfly Creek)
-Bolivian Blue-leg Tarantula (Butterfly Creek)
(these may also be held at other collections, and there may be more holdings, because I am not sure what Wellington and the South Island collections have, and what Auckland and Butterfly Creek have off-display.)

Species Imported 2012:

-Chilean Rose Tarantula (Wellington Zoo)
-King Baboon Tarantula (Wellington Zoo)
-?
-?
-?
-?

Species in NZ 2009, current status unknown
-Peruvian Pink-toed Tarantula (Wellington)
-Goliath Tarantula (Auckland, Wellington)
-Goliath Stripe-legged Tarantula (Otago Museum)

So it will be interesting to see what species we have once the remaining four imported by Wellington are revealed. A further 30 will be arriving in the next two months, these will be endangered species.

If anyone knows of anymore species, please add them to the thread.
 
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zooboy28 said:
....and there may be more holdings, because I am not sure what Wellington and the South Island collections have....
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as far as I'm aware the only ones on display in the South Island are at Canterbury Museum and Otago Museum. Last time I was there Canterbury Museum only had one red-kneed tarantula left. Otago Museum usually has three species but I can't remember what they are offhand. I haven't seen the Canterbury University spider room for a long time so not sure if they still have tarantulas there or not.
 
Otago Museum's holdings from 2007:

Chlidonias said:
the three tarantula species they had in 2007 (probably the same now) were "orange striped bird-eater" (Lasiodorides striatus?), "Peruvian pink-toed tarantula" (Avicularia urticans) and "Chilean rose tarantula" (Grammostola rosea).
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for what it's worth, these are the species approved by the EPA for containment within NZ zoos:
Aphonopelma moderatum (Rio Grande gold tarantula)
Aphonopelma seemanni (Costa Rica zebra tarantula)
Avicularia urticans (Peruvian pink toe tarantula)
Brachypelma smithii (Mexican red knee tarantula)
Citharischius crawshayi (king baboon tarantula)
Grammostola pulchra (Brazilian black tarantula)
Grammostola rosea (Chilean rose hair tarantula)
Lasiodorides polycuspulatus (Peruvian blonde tarantula)
Lasiodorides striatus (Peruvian orange stripe tarantula)
Pamphobetus antinous (steely blue-leg bird-eating spider)
Pamphobetus platytomma (Brazilian pink tarantula)
Theraphosa blondi (Goliath bird-eating spider)
 
zooboy28 said:
Species in New Zealand:

-Mexican Red Knee Tarantula (Auckland, Canterbury Museum)
-Costa Rican Zebra Tarantula (Butterfly Creek)
-Pink-toed Tarantula (Otago Museum, Butterfly Creek)
-King Baboon Tarantula (Butterfly Creek)
-Thailand Black Tarantula (Butterfly Creek)
-Bolivian Blue-leg Tarantula (Butterfly Creek)
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I find the Thailand black tarantula interesting because the only non-American species on the approved list is the king baboon from Africa. I checked the Butterfly Creek website and the spider pictured is definitely Haplopelma minax though. Perhaps they came in accidentally as another species (or as stowaways in cargo or something like that) and they were allowed to keep them?
 
zooboy28 said:
Species in New Zealand:

-Mexican Red Knee Tarantula (Auckland, Canterbury Museum)
-Costa Rican Zebra Tarantula (Butterfly Creek)
-Pink-toed Tarantula (Otago Museum, Butterfly Creek)
-King Baboon Tarantula (Butterfly Creek)
-Thailand Black Tarantula (Butterfly Creek)
-Bolivian Blue-leg Tarantula (Butterfly Creek)
(these may also be held at other collections, and there may be more holdings, because I am not sure what Wellington and the South Island collections have, and what Auckland and Butterfly Creek have off-display.)
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the reference (on the other thread) to some of Wellington Zoo's new tarantulas going to Auckland Museum caused me to have a look at their website and apparently they have tarantulas and other live animals in their Weird And Wonderful section (Weird & Wonderful - Auckland Museum New Zealand). Have you ever been there zooboy28? The room looks really similar to the Discovery Centre at the Canterbury Museum.
 
Chlidonias said:
the reference (on the other thread) to some of Wellington Zoo's new tarantulas going to Auckland Museum caused me to have a look at their website and apparently they have tarantulas and other live animals in their Weird And Wonderful section (Weird & Wonderful - Auckland Museum New Zealand). Have you ever been there zooboy28? The room looks really similar to the Discovery Centre at the Canterbury Museum.
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I was there last year but don't remember seeing any tarantulas, but it was incredibly busy and crowded so I may have missed them.
 
I meant TheSpiderShop's facebook, not Wellington Zoo's facebook (I may have phrased it confusingly)
 
in my random googlings I found an interesting sideline. The Spider Shop, from whence Wellington Zoo sourced their spiders, is owned by one Lee Ardern. Google his name to find how he has obtained, for example, tarantulas in South America for his business in Wales....

I'm sure all the spiders Wellington Zoo imported were captive-bred and legal, but surely they should be checking their suppliers better.
 
Wow!!!! Would love to get my hands on some of those. make some nice additions to my invert collection. as far as i know the only place here to see exotic tarantulas is at the Reptile Park.
 
there's not much news in Timaru, so the local newspaper there (the Timaru Herald) has run a story on how the South Canterbury Museum won't be getting tarantulas!
Spiders Not Coming To South Canterbury Musuem | Stuff.co.nz
Inanga yes, tarantulas no.

Venomous tarantula spiders won't be coming to the South Canterbury Museum any time soon, but director Philip Howe isn't ruling out the possibility of having the hairy creatures here some time in the future.

Wellington Zoo has just received a shipment of 106 tarantulas from Wales, and now plans to distribute more than 60 of the spiders to zoos throughout New Zealand, while the rest will remain at Wellington Zoo. Six different species of tarantula were included in the shipment. A second shipment of the spiders is due late in the year.

Asked whether he would be keen to have tarantulas at the Timaru museum, Mr Howe liked the idea but said they needed to be kept in quite specific conditions, including in temperatures above 20deg C. In captivity, tarantulas are housed in separate individual tanks.

"Caring for them would be a bit of work, and as we do not have a full time natural history curator we are restricted in what we can keep,'' he said, adding he personally would find the creatures interesting, and it was possible the museum might explore the options for housing tarantulas in the future.

There was also the issue that just because a facility had tarantulas, there was no guarantee they would be visible to visitors all the time just as was the case with the tuataras at the Southland Museum.

The South Canterbury Museum's focus was the history of the region, and in line with that, the museum did have a tank of inanga. They were among the hardy of all fresh water fish, tolerating temperatures of up to 25deg C.

"And they don't hide under a log,'' Mr Howe quipped, referring to tarantulas not always choosing to be visible.
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Jarkari said:
Wow!!!! Would love to get my hands on some of those. make some nice additions to my invert collection. as far as i know the only place here to see exotic tarantulas is at the Reptile Park.
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Both Melbourne Zoo and Melbourne Museum have small collections of a few different species. I can't remember which of the top of my head. The Museum has a bit of information about quarantine and I think that theirs (and possibly the zoos) were saved after being imported illegally.
 
The South Canterbury Museum's focus was the history of the region, and in line with that, the museum did have a tank of inanga. They were among the hardy of all fresh water fish, tolerating temperatures of up to 25deg C.
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Bit off-topic but have I missed something here or is there a typo? 25°C is hardly a remarkable temperature for a fish..! Temperature variations, maybe?
 
Maguari said:
Bit off-topic but have I missed something here or is there a typo? 25°C is hardly a remarkable temperature for a fish..! Temperature variations, maybe?
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I think he was meaning New Zealand freshwater fish rather than freshwater fish in general. Most NZ native fish can't tolerate high temperatures very well but inanga can be kept at higher than most. There have been quite a lot of studies done on inanga because their young (whitebait) are important culturally. The preferred temperature of the species has been shown to be about 20°C but they can take it up as high as 26°C. It's not a temperature you would intentionally keep them at however because they are then under a state of stress and become more susceptible to disease and other problems.
 
I am amazed: NZ authorities allow importing bird eating spiders, but denied it for (even non venomous) snakes??! Hmh, couldn't be the warm and humid environment of NZ cities and/or the Top Northern parts of NZ a good habitat for escaped bird eating spiders too? And is population control of bird eating spiders easier then the one of snakes?...
 
PAT said:
Both Melbourne Zoo and Melbourne Museum have small collections of a few different species. I can't remember which of the top of my head. The Museum has a bit of information about quarantine and I think that theirs (and possibly the zoos) were saved after being imported illegally.
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from 2010:
Exotic tarantulas: Museum Victoria
The species of live exotic tarantulas we have at the moment include the Goliath, Sri Lankan Ornamental, Brazilian Salmon Pink, Mexican Red-rumped, Sun-tiger, Giant White Knee, King Baboon and Cobalt Blue.
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I guess you need to get to Melbourne Jarkari!!

This article is from 2012:
MV Blog: Museum Victoria
Melbourne Museum is home two quarantine rooms where we house 14 tarantulas that were confiscated by AQIS.

One quarantine room at the museum is located within the Bugs Alive! gallery and allows visitors to see its inner workings through a glass viewing wall, while the other room is located behind the scenes.

Our display spiders are fed every fortnight on Saturdays. One of our 'behind the scenes' spiders is fed weekly on Fridays at 3pm live on the web.

Currently on display via the webcam is a Brazilian Salmon Pink tarantula (Lasiodora parahybana). Brazilian Salmon Pinks are the third largest species of tarantula with a leg span reaching 25cm.
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zoomaniac said:
I am amazed: NZ authorities allow importing bird eating spiders, but denied it for (even non venomous) snakes??! Hmh, couldn't be the warm and humid environment of NZ cities and/or the Top Northern parts of NZ a good habitat for escaped bird eating spiders too? And is population control of bird eating spiders easier then the one of snakes?...
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NZ cities are neither warm nor humid. Generally speaking, NZers don't heat buildings the way Europeans do. We are too tough ;)

There's really no way any of the importable species could survive in the wild in NZ, even in the far north. But yes it is a bit silly that tarantulas (and the two species of scorpion which are also on the allowed list!!) can be brought into the country for zoos but not a single male non-venomous tropical snake can be. But that's the way it is.
 
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