Phrixotrichus

Phrixotrichus is a New World tarantula genus in the family Theraphosidae, native to central Chile and western Argentina. It was erected by French arachnologist Eugène Simon in 1889 to accommodate several medium-sized, ground-dwelling tarantulas with distinctive copper-to-reddish coloration.

The best-known member of the group, Phrixotrichus scrofa, was actually described much earlier, in 1782 by Juan Ignacio Molina, and originally placed in another spider genus. Over the following two centuries it moved through multiple names (including Phrixotrichus auratus, Paraphysa scrofa and Phrixotrichus chilensis) as different authors tried to sort out the Chilean tarantulas.

A major modern revision came in 2014, when Perafán & Pérez-Miles published a phylogenetic study of several Andean tarantula genera (Euathlus, Paraphysa and Phrixotrichus). They redefined Phrixotrichus, confirmed P. scrofa and P. vulpinus in the genus, and added a new species, Phrixotrichus jara, from the Biobío Region of Chile. Shortly after, Phrixotrichus pucara was described from Argentina, giving the genus its current four recognized species: P. scrofa, P. vulpinus, P. jara and P. pucara.

Modern catalogs and biodiversity databases now treat Phrixotrichus as a small but well-defined genus of terrestrial tarantulas with a restricted distribution in temperate South America. These spiders are known in the hobby under common names such as “Chilean copper” or “Chilean violet,” and are appreciated for their manageable size, calm temperament and attractive copper-pink tones.