male or female? l. mac. 3.5 inches long

[MAGI521]

anybody know whether this is a male or female?

 

[Pea-brain]

I'm gonna say male because I think I see the "male parts" and the raptorial appendage is pretty large. Also usually only males are collected.

Dan

 

[justinl]

yeah i think i see the gonopods just after the second pair of walking legs too. and yeah most L. macs we'll see are males since the females usually just sit in the burrow and allow the male to do the hunting if i remember correctly.

 

[Gonodactylus]

It is a male.

However, the only sure way to tell at this size is by identifying the gonopods (penises). The sexual dimorphism really does not start until the animals become sexual mature around 4-5 inches. Also, up to this point the males and females live in their own burrows and hunt actively, so you are just as likely to catch a male as a female.

Roy

 

[MAGI521]

thanks everyone for the replies. where are the gonopods at? are they behind the 2nd pair of walking legs? i do not see anything there.

 

[Gonodactylus]

They come off the inside base of the third pair of walking legs and are a simple tube about 1/3 the length of the leg.

Roy