Ornithoctonus

Ornithoctonus is a small genus of Southeast Asian tarantulas first described in 1892 by British arachnologist Reginald Innes Pocock, based on specimens from the Mergui Archipelago region of Myanmar. The type species, Ornithoctonus andersoni, helped define not only the genus but later the entire subfamily Ornithoctoninae, which Pocock formally erected a few years later in 1895.

Through the 20th century several species were added and later moved out of Ornithoctonus as taxonomists refined the boundaries between closely related Asian genera such as Haplopelma, Cyriopagopus, and Poecilotheria. Modern catalogues now recognize just three valid species within the genus—O. andersoni, O. aureotibialis, and O. costalis—distributed mainly in Myanmar and Thailand.

Despite its modest size, the genus has had an outsized influence on Asian tarantula systematics. Ornithoctonus andersoni is the reference point for the subfamily Ornithoctoninae, a group known for burrowing “earth tiger” tarantulas with bold striping and often striking sexual dichromatism. Ongoing field work in Southeast Asia continues to refine our understanding of this lineage, with hobby and scientific material occasionally prompting reevaluation of where certain “earth tiger” species truly belong.

Source: Hauke 2017

Source: Hauke 2017

Genus and species: Ornithoctonus aureotibialis

Common name: Thailand Golden Fringe

Given name: Kanchana

Sex: TBD

Life stage: Sling

This species is native to Myanmar, Thailand, and Malaysia. They can reach and adult size of up to 5 to 6 inches. Adult females have a dark brown abdomen and dark carapace; black legs with rust setae on the outside of each leg. O. aureotibialis is considered a defensive species.

Fried and served as street food in Thailand and Cambodia.

Habitat: Gallery forest regions.

Our Specimen

Species Notes:

• New addition to our collection.

Ornithoctonus sp. uthai thani