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Local nocturnal wildlife

ArpeggioAngel said:
I will be there 8/28 through I think 9/5 or 9/6. I have to be in Prescott on the 28th for a wedding but other than that no plans yet for the week. I think my aunt wants to take me to Tonopah (spelling?) for a day...but other than that nothing. I also think it is going to be just me this trip so I will have plenty of time available.
All I know is I need to find some native wildlife to photograph out there already. I have had such horrible luck thus far on all my trips...
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Well monsoon season is on it's way, so everything and it's mom is coming out!

Steph I WISH I could just go out and grab one but my dad is terrified of spiders and won't allow them in his house... all the more reason to move out ;P

Now if you happen across a rosy boa this spring... :crazy02:
 
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That thing is creepy as hell!!! What is it?
 
Hee hee. That is a solifuge. He tried to convince me several times that he would kill me with his chelicerae, but I wasn't buying it. A friend pointed out that they look a little like muppet arachnids, with which I agree. They're harmless.
 
Nanci said:
I was thinking for a minute, armadillo armadillo, not armadillo lizard!!

I love the Colorado River toad! They make the best pets!!
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I think she must be thinking armadillo armadillo, because we don't have armadillo lizards here--they're African.

But I am not sure we have armadillos, and I won't be packaging any up for anyone, either! Armadillos can have leprosy--it's endemic in the US armadillo population--and although the mechanism of transmission for leprosy is still a mystery, all of the cases (few--in the teens I think) of leprosy contracted in the US in the last, oh, at least 50 years, have been people who had close contact with armadillos. If I could catch an armadillo, I would, but I wouldn't send it anywhere because of that. :)
 
desertanimal said:
I think she must be thinking armadillo armadillo, because we don't have armadillo lizards here--they're African.

But I am not sure we have armadillos, and I won't be packaging any up for anyone, either! Armadillos can have leprosy--it's endemic in the US armadillo population--and although the mechanism of transmission for leprosy is still a mystery, all of the cases (few--in the teens I think) of leprosy contracted in the US in the last, oh, at least 50 years, have been people who had close contact with armadillos. If I could catch an armadillo, I would, but I wouldn't send it anywhere because of that. :)
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You know - I found out about that AFTER I pet a wild armadillo here in Florida. Guess I won't be doing that again!
 
Well, I've caught an armadillo before. And I don't have leprosy! They were actually very important in developing the vaccine.
 
I had no idea about armadillos and leprosy--it's not something I've ever heard of, before. I learn something new every day:). Gimme the vaccine and directions to the nearest armadillo, and I'm there!

A local pet store had one for sale a few years back, and sold it. They said they're boring pets. Some people say the same about snakes, though. Who cares? I have dogs and macaws (and children)! That's enough excitement for anyone :).
 
Nice photos!

Looks like you had fun! So sorry you will have to move to the northeast for a while. Hope you will be able to go back to Az. fairly soon!
 
desertanimal said:
Also, does anyone know what those red things are on the lateral, proximal chelicerae of the wolf spider? They're hard and slick. I'm wondering if they maybe function like a tendon or ligament to keep the chelicera retracted when not being actively used?
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desertanimal said:
Hee hee. That is a solifuge. He tried to convince me several times that he would kill me with his chelicerae, but I wasn't buying it. A friend pointed out that they look a little like muppet arachnids, with which I agree. They're harmless.
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Steph, In spiders the chelicerae are two part with a base that is attached to the cephalothorax and a fang that is attached to the base. The venom glands are inside the base part of the chelicerae and extend back into the chephalothorax. I think this is what you are seeing in the Wolf Spider picture.

I have never been bitten by a Solifugae but I have been told they have a very painful bite. My kids kept a few of them as pets years ago and they can kill and eat anything. They put a six inch sage brush lizard in with one and it not only killed it but it ate it. It took weeks but the thing never let go of it.

Great pictures by the way. I love seeing what you see at night.
 
Thanks Wade and tsst.

I had a much smaller solifuge once run at and repeatedly bite the ruler I was using for scale in its photo. I could hear those sharp tips of the chelicerae clicking against the plastic ruler. They can clearly pack a wallop in terms of bite force and it seems would give you a nasty cut if they bit you.
 
They like to eat darkling beetles which have really hard exoskeletons. I have heard that in some areas at night you can hear them cracking the beetles open. That convinced me to not pick them up.
 
wade said:
They like to eat darkling beetles which have really hard exoskeletons. I have heard that in some areas at night you can hear them cracking the beetles open. That convinced me to not pick them up.
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LOL! Well, I've only ever picked up teeny ones and practically dead ones. This one tried to convince me several times that it would kill me. Really, I've never seen an another invert run AT something millions of times its size. They're freaking fast, too. So if you DID pick one up, you'd have no idea if it might be up your shirt sleeve a second later. No way, man. No way.
 
My mouth dropped when I saw the solifuge!! Something about the undersized head and oversized chelicerae or at least that's how they looked was definately spine shivering!
By the way awesome photos!! Makes me want to go out on the hunt.
I also wanted to know what kind of camera were you using?? What program do you use to resize your pics?? I want to put some pics on here but need to resize them and I don't want to have to download anything even if it's free.
 
Thanks. I use a Panasonic lumix fz-30. I'd love to have a DSLR, but I don't. :) I use photoshop to crop and resize photos. But you can resize them in whatever photoviewer comes with windows.
 
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