Subject: Tarantula?
Geographic location of the bug: East Bay, California (Danville)
Date: 05/06/2019
Time: 12:49 AM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hi there,
We found this guy at the bottom of the pool in early May, and sadly it doesn’t appear that he was a swimmer. We would love to know what kind of tarantula he was, as it appears most of the local sighting are on Mount Diablo and not down in the valley by us. The California Ebony tarantula seems to be most prevalent in this region, but the pictures we’ve seen online don’t look like an exact match (ie ours has 4 orange spots on his belly). Thank you for any help or advice you might be able to give!!
Ps we didn’t get a chance to measure him but the last picture has the hand of a 12-year-old for reference.
How you want your letter signed: Clueless in Cali
Dear Clueless in Cali,
Based on BugGuide images and the reported range, we believe this is Aphonopelma iodius. According tom SF Bay Wildlife: ” The species in the Bay area has been determined to be Aphonopelma iodius.”
The four orange spots on their belly are their book lungs and all tarantulas have them.