Whoever originally described C. paganus did a poor job, as the description is brief, with barely any detail. And since no one else has published a full description of C. paganus and compared it to other Cyriopagopus, no one knows what it is exactly. Most Ts sold as C. paganus are either C. vonwirthi or C. minax. Yours has stripes on the patella, which is indicative of C. vonwirthi.
Yes, I've read that original description of C. paganus by Eugène Simon, from an 1887 French publication and written in Latin! He described a juvenile female as the type specimen, and apparently there is now a mature male of the same species that someone added at a later time to the same jar with the female. Impossible for us in the hobby to know what the real C. paganus is.
I've been in your shoes AZ Tom, having made three separate purchases of spiders dubiously labeled paganus and described as Thai tiger, Asian chevron, and Vietnamese earth tiger. I think I really got two vonwirthi and one minax. We need a new revision with DNA sequencing for phylogenetic clustering, and high-quality color photography to understand what's going on in that part of the world, plus an expedition to Myanmar to see if something we believe to be the real paganus can be rediscovered.
Hello there, why not take a few seconds to register on our forums and become part of the community? Just click here.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
