Tarantulas

History of Selenocosmia 1871 – Genus erected Austrian arachnologist Anton Ausserer establishes the genus Selenocosmia  within Theraphosidae, with Mygale javanensis  (Walckenaer, 1837) designated as the type species (now Selenocosmia javanensis ). Early work (late 1800s–early 1900s) Classic arachnologists like Thorell, Kulczyński, Hogg, Simon, and others describe many of the “core” species from Indonesia, New Guinea, India, and Australia (e.g. S. crassipes , S. stirlingi , S.

Selenobrachys is a small genus of Old World tarantulas in the family Theraphosidae, native to the Philippines. It was first established in 1999 by Günter Schmidt to accommodate Selenobrachys philippinus  from Negros Island, a bright orange terrestrial species that quickly became popular in the hobby. In 2012, a major revision of Asian tarantulas treated Selenobrachys as a junior synonym of the genus Orphnaecus , so S. philippinus  was referred to for years as Orphnaecus phili

Stromatopelma is a small genus of African arboreal tarantulas in the family Theraphosidae, established by German arachnologist Ferdinand Karsch in 1881. He based the genus on an older species described as Aranea calceata  by Fabricius in 1793, which is now known as Stromatopelma calceatum  and serves as the type species. These spiders are native to parts of West and Central Africa, with different species recorded from countries such as Guinea, Ghana, Cameroon, Equatorial Guin

Selenocosmiinae is an Old World tarantula subfamily (family Theraphosidae) found from India across Southeast Asia to New Guinea and Australia. It was first established by Eugène Simon in 1889 based on a group of burrowing mygalomorphs that shared distinctive stridulatory (“hissing”) organs: a lyra of stiff hairs on the maxillae and corresponding strikers on the chelicerae. Early work in the late 19th and early 20th century described many of the core genera we still recognize

Thrixopelma is a small genus of South American tarantulas first established in 1994 by German arachnologist Günter Schmidt, based on the striking Peruvian species Thrixopelma ockerti  (“Peruvian flame rump”). These are medium-to-large New World tarantulas (roughly 35–60 mm body length) with robust builds and powerful urticating hairs, found mainly in Andean and foothill habitats of Peru and Ecuador. For many years, Thrixopelma was something of a “catch-all” for several Andean

Theraphosa is a genus of giant South American tarantulas first established by French arachnologist Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1805, with the type species originally described a year earlier by Latreille as Mygale blondi  (now Theraphosa blondi ). These enormous spiders quickly became famous as the “Goliath birdeaters” after 18th–19th century illustrations showed large tarantulas preying on small birds, a dramatic image that cemented their common name even though they most

Taksinus bambus Common Name Thai Bamboo Spider / Thai Bamboo Earth Tiger / Bamboo Culm Tarantula Origin Region:  Northern Thailand Locality:  Mae Tho area, Mueang Tak District, Tak Province Habitat type:  Cool, humid mountain bamboo forests where dense stands of Gigantochloa  bamboo are present Lifestyle Type:  Old World, primarily arboreal/crevice-dwelling Microhabitat:  Specialised bamboo dweller; in nature it lives inside hollow bamboo culms, using natural holes, cracks or

Tliltocatl  is a relatively new tarantula genus, formally described by Mendoza & Francke during a major revision of the Mexican Brachypelma  group published in 2019 and implemented in 2020. Their work showed that the traditional genus Brachypelma  actually contained two distinct evolutionary lineages based on molecular and morphological data. To keep the groups natural (monophyletic), the “red-rumped” species were separated into the new genus Tliltocatl , while the classic “r

Theraphosinae is the largest subfamily of New World tarantulas, containing roughly half of all known tarantula species and dozens of genera spread across North, Central and South America. These spiders are primarily ground-dwelling and are best known for their urticating hairs, a defensive feature that likely helped drive their evolutionary success. The group’s taxonomic story starts in the early 1800s, when large South American species were described under the genus Therapho

Theraphosidae—the tarantulas—were formalized as a family in the 19th century, when Tamerlan Thorell introduced the family name in 1869. Today, tarantula classification is still actively evolving: the World Spider Catalog (WSC, the standard reference used by many researchers and museums) currently recognizes 186 valid genera and 1,189 valid species in Theraphosidae (WSC update dated 2025-11-27). At the genus level, theraphosid taxonomy has been shaped by two big forces: (1) st

Tapinauchenius is a New World arboreal tarantula genus first erected by Austrian arachnologist Anton Ausserer in 1871, to house Mygale plumipes —a species originally described by C. L. Koch in 1842 and shuffled through earlier catch-all genera before getting its own, more accurate home. The name combines Greek roots meaning “low” and “neck,” probably referring to the relatively flat carapace of these spiders. Throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries, additional Tapinauchen

Urupelma  is a recently established genus of Andean tarantulas in the family Theraphosidae. It was created in 2023 by Kaderka, Lüddecke, Řezáč, Řezáčová & Hüsser during a major revision of the Peruvian species Homoeomma peruvianum . Their work showed that this spider and several related montane taxa did not fit the diagnostic characters of Homoeomma , especially in male palpal bulb structure and female spermathecae, so they were moved into a new genus, Urupelma . The type spe

Vitalius is a genus of large New World tarantulas native to South America, first formally described in 1993 by Brazilian arachnologists Sylvia Lucas, Pedro Ismael da Silva Jr. and Rogério Bertani. The genus was created to regroup several robust ground-dwelling theraphosids from Brazil, many of which had originally been placed in older “catch-all” genera during the early 20th century. Today, Vitalius species are especially common in the Atlantic Forest and adjacent regions of

The genus Xenesthis is a group of large New World tarantulas in the family Theraphosidae, first established by French arachnologist Eugène Simon in 1891, with Xenesthis colombiana designated as the type species. These spiders are native to northern South America, with confirmed records from Colombia and Venezuela; earlier reports from Panama were later considered misidentifications. Xenesthis was originally set apart from other tarantulas by the unusually dense “scopula” (bru

Ybyrapora is a small genus of arboreal tarantulas in the family Theraphosidae, endemic to Brazil’s Atlantic rainforest. It was formally established in 2017 by Fukushima & Bertani as part of a major taxonomic revision of the old “catch-all” genus Avicularia, where several distinct lineages were split off into new genera, including Ybyrapora. The genus currently includes three species— Ybyrapora diversipes, Y. gamba, and Y. sooretama —all originally described in Avicularia and