Name of issue: Les araignées (spiders)
Number of arachnid related stamps in issue: 7/7
What a desaster this issue is. A nice mixt of soccer player and spiders!?!?!
There is a mistake in the name on one of the stamps. And they have used three times the same species on three different stamps, not very original.
But, very worthy of noting, this series contains the only official amblypygi stamp I know of (there is another one from the Nothern Territories of Japan, but it is a local-cinderella stamp)! But it is still written "The Spiders" on that stamp, I guess we cannot ask for too much.
SOUVENIR SHEET 1
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| Michel #: ? order: Araneae **mistake on species, listed as Damon tibialis (amblypygi species) and the animal is clearly a spider |
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| Michel #: ? order: Amblypygi family: Phrynichidae Damon tibialis |
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| Michel #: ? order: Araneae family: Araneidae Aranoethra butleri Pocock, 1899 |
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| Michel #: ? order: Araneae family: Theraphosidae Phoneyusa celerierae Smith, 1990 |
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| Michel #: ? order: Araneae family: Theraphosidae Phoneyusa celerierae Smith, 1990 |
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| Michel #: ? order: Araneae family: Theraphosidae Phoneyusa celerierae Smith, 1990 |
Souvenir sheet:
Lower left crop:
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| order: Araneae family: Sicariidae Loxosceles fontainei Millot, 1941 |
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| order: Araneae family: ? |
SOUVENIR SHEET 2:
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| Michel #: ? order: Araneae family: Araneidae Argiope aemula (Walckenaer, 1841) |
Souvenir sheet:
I will take time to translate for you what is written on that souvenir sheet as it is well worth it:
"There are over 2000 species of spiders in Africa; it is therefore impossible to name them all. We will mention four of the genus Agelena. The Agelena is a sociable species, with its "sisters", Agelena consociata or Agelena republicana or as well Agelena gracilensis or Agelena naevia."
So what is the point of that? They name four species, none of them are shown on the stamps. It is completely random. Also, Agelena gracilensis was tranferred in the genus Allagelena in 2006, three years before this issue. Not to mention the soccer player, what is going on here?
