# Creating a caresheet ~ Encyocratella olivacea (Xenodendrophila gabrieli)



## guruphil (Oct 16, 2010)

Hey all.

I've noticed there's little-to-no info on the E. olivacea. Does anyone on here have any info on the species at all?

So far, here's what I know:


Arboreal "baboon" species, native to the mountains in Tanzania.
Prefers temperatures around 23-26 celsius. Not too much more as is found at fairly high altitude.
Not too fond of high humidity.
Bloody fast, similar in speed/skittishness to my OBT sling.
Quite a heavy webber.
Appears to be showing adult colours at approx 4th instar.
Does not have spermathecae (citation: Richard Gallon)
Has anyone got any further info on them? For example:


Adult sizes (male/female)
Venom potency (Old World so going to be strong, but are there any bite reports?)
General adult/mature behaviour (Skittish? Aggressive? Defensive?)
Thanks all, thought it'd be nice to try and compile some info on this species. Many thanks to Michael Scheller and his team for breeding this rare, beautiful species and making them more available.

Phil.



(4th instar E. olivacea. - It's standing on a bit of webbed up wood, hence the 'white' bit!)


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## selina20 (May 28, 2008)

I think there was someone on arachnophiles that attempted to breed these. Might be worth having a look on there for info


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

lol didnt realise you had the old name lol I shall now sit here in disgust with myself :lol:


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## guruphil (Oct 16, 2010)

I've looked under both names (hence the information that I have found so far, and the title of the thread) - but thought maybe some people on here might have some first hand experience. 

Arachnoboards had a bit here and there, but it's mostly a few years ago and the threads seem fairly dead. We've come a long way since 2006 

Thanks guys! :2thumb:

Phil.


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## guruphil (Oct 16, 2010)

snowgoose said:


> lol didnt realise you had the old name lol I shall now sit here in disgust with myself :lol:


LOL, sounds like you've had as long and crap a day as me!!


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## snowgoose (May 5, 2009)

lol not really long or crap lol infact yeah t'was just a general boring crap day lol


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## guruphil (Oct 16, 2010)

snowgoose said:


> lol not really long or crap lol infact yeah t'was just a general boring crap day lol


Amen to that! 

At least today at work I found out that the thing I was repairing wasn't something I myself had broken, it's just that I'd made changes to the system moments before someone else broke it!!!  (Stupid IT stuff!) 

- I was convinced that I was the guilty party for a while...


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## jaykickboxer (Feb 11, 2008)

guruphil said:


> Amen to that!
> 
> At least today at work I found out that the thing I was repairing wasn't something I myself had broken, it's just that I'd made changes to the system moments before someone else broke it!!!  (Stupid IT stuff!)
> 
> - I was convinced that I was the guilty party for a while...


Where did u get it mate I realy like these haven't seen.any available?


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## guruphil (Oct 16, 2010)

Michael Scheller. He should have loads at the BTS show if you don't feel like importing. 

Mine's about an inch at the mo, got it at SEAS.


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## durbans (Sep 16, 2009)

guruphil said:


> Amen to that!
> 
> At least today at work I found out that the thing I was repairing wasn't something I myself had broken, it's just that I'd made changes to the system moments before someone else broke it!!!  (Stupid IT stuff!)
> 
> - I was convinced that I was the guilty party for a while...


Hmmm.....did I break it?! And I hope your planning on collating this info into a caresheet for a certain website.... *whistling*


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## guruphil (Oct 16, 2010)

Lol. Don't worry durbans. Our awesome software picked up a problem on a customer site. I fixed it and asked them to confirm... but they ignored that & decided to have a fiddle instead. Ended up with a very broken email server! All fixed now though! 

Anyway back to the interesting topics at hand. Definitely will be collating in that direction. If there's anything worth putting! 

I totally can't wait for this spider to get a bit bigger!


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## TCBT (Jul 11, 2010)

Adult size is around 5", and fairly fast growing.

Keep on the dry side, with a light mist once a week

temperment, skiddish, wont hesitate to throw a thret display, but tend not to follow through with it, more of a run and hide, than OBT style biting.


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## guruphil (Oct 16, 2010)

TCBT said:


> Adult size is around 5", and fairly fast growing.
> 
> Keep on the dry side, with a light mist once a week
> 
> temperment, skiddish, wont hesitate to throw a thret display, but tend not to follow through with it, more of a run and hide, than OBT style biting.


Awesome! Thank you TCBT. 

Do you keep one? What are your thoughts on them? I suspect it'll end up a favourite of mine.


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## Lucky Eddie (Oct 7, 2009)

Encyocratella olivacea - Arachnoboards

Every little helps!

I agree Phil, they are an awesome looking spider and am hoping to pick up another at the BTS.

I just hope the price doesn't go up too much, because the growth rate seems pretty good in these and they will probably be around 2'' long in May!!!!!!!!!


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## TCBT (Jul 11, 2010)

guruphil said:


> Awesome! Thank you TCBT.
> 
> Do you keep one? What are your thoughts on them? I suspect it'll end up a favourite of mine.


 
i did have a few a while back. couple adult female's and was hoping for a male, but never did get one :bash:

my thoughts fella, well how to put it.... They are AMAZING !! :Na_Na_Na_Na: very colourfull, out and about most of the time, ate like pigs, bullet proof all round imo : victory:... they are a must have, regarless of what your into, they i promise will not disapoint :mf_dribble:


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## guruphil (Oct 16, 2010)

*Caresheet for Encyocratella olivacea*

So, here's an update of info gathered so far:

The Encyocratella olivacea is an arboreal baboon spider from the mountains in northern Tanzania iEast Africa.

Little has been recorded about these spiders as yet, so what follows is a collection of information I have managed to gather from the web, in addition to my own observations.

At time of writing, I have a 2cm spiderling at 4th instar, this was purchased from Michael Scheller at the end of January 2011.

Species: Encyocratella olivacea

Common Name: Black and Gold Featherleg Baboon (unconfirmed)

Native Habitat: Amani, Tanzania (Mountain region) _1_

First Described: Strand, 1907

Junior Synonym: Xenodendrophila gabrieli _2_

Preferred Temperature: Approx 22-26 celsius

Preferred Humidity: Low-Medium (light misting once per week in average conditions)

Adult Size: 12-15cm (5-6")

Growth Rate: Medium-Fast

Venom Potency: Strong but unconfirmed, suspect similar to Heteroscodra maculata or Pterinochilus murinus due to similar habitat and behaviour. (Unconfirmed)

Behaviour: Skittish, prone to threat displays. Will choose 'flight' over 'fight' but very defensive.

Feeding: Good feeder. Will take food daily at 4th instar

Other Notes: Fairly heavy webber, appears to present close-to-adult colourings at 4th instar. Lacks spermathecae in mature females _3_


Citations:

_1_. Presumptive habitat of the African arboreal theraphosid spider Encyocratella olivacea STRAND, 1907 (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Stromatopelminae) 
_2_. Encyocratella olivacea Strand, 1907, a senior synonym of Xenodendrophila gabrieli Gallon, 2003 (excerpt)
_3_. A new African arboreal genus and species of theraphosid spider (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Stromatopelminae) which lacks spermathecae.


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