Selenocosmiinae

Dominik Alexander
Nov 8
4 min read

Updated: Dec 2

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 today, including Selenocosmia (Ausserer, 1871), Coremiocnemis and Orphnaecus (Simon, 1892), and Lyrognathus, Selenotypus and Selenotholus (Pocock, 1895–1902). Through much of the 20th century, Selenocosmiinae became a “catch-all” for various Asian and Australasian theraphosids that fit this general morphology.

From the 1990s onward, detailed revisions and cladistic work began to tighten the concept of the subfamily. Schmidt and co-authors erected smaller genera such as Chilocosmia, Haplocosmia and Selenobrachys, while later revisions of Lyrognathus and Phlogiellus refined generic boundaries and updated the diagnosis of Selenocosmiinae as a whole.

Modern molecular studies (2010s) tested these traditional groupings and showed that some spiders once placed in Selenocosmiinae – notably Poecilotheria – actually form their own separate subfamily. These analyses also recovered Selenocosmiinae as most closely related to the Indian subfamily Thrigmopoeinae.

Recent field work and phylogenetic research continue to split out distinct lineages and describe new taxa. Newer genera such as Psednocnemis (2012) and Birupes (2019) were created for Malaysian and Bornean species that did not fit comfortably inside older genera.

According to the World Spider Catalog and recent overviews, Selenocosmiinae currently includes 13 genera:

Birupes, Chilobrachys, Chilocosmia, Coremiocnemis, Haplocosmia, Lyrognathus, Orphnaecus, Phlogiellus, Psednocnemis, Selenobrachys, Selenocosmia, Selenotholus, and Selenotypus. As taxonomy is active and new material is still being studied, genus limits and species counts within Selenocosmiinae are subject to change as more data become available.

Selenocosmiinae sp. kordillera

Common name: Kordillera Blue / Kordillera Earth Tiger
Origin: Cordillera Administrative Region, northern Luzon, Philippines – cool, humid montane forest.
Lifestyle: Old World fossorial / terrestrial burrower; heavy webber.
Adult size: Around 5–6″ (up to ~15 cm) diagonal leg span.
Growth rate: Fast-growing for an Old World species.
Temperament: Very quick and defensive; will readily stand its ground and is not recommended as a beginner handling species.
Color & appearance: Striking contrast of metallic to inky blue legs with a peach-tan carapace and darker abdomen; classic Asian “earth tiger” look with dense webbing around the burrow.

Species History

“Kordillera” is an undescribed Old World fossorial tarantula from the Cordillera Administrative Region of northern Luzon in the Philippines. It first came to the attention of Filipino keepers around 2015, when burrowing spiders with deep blue legs and a peach-colored carapace were collected from cool, moist mountain forest soils in this region.

Because its exact identity was unknown, the species entered the hobby under the catch-all label Selenocosmiinae sp. “Kordilleran/Kordillera” and was later widely sold as Selenocosmia sp. “Kordillera”, often under the common name Kordillera Earth Tiger. Early on it was a genuine rarity outside the Philippines, with most specimens in Europe and North America being wild-caught. As more animals were imported and successful breedings were established, availability increased in the early 2020s and captive-bred slings are now regularly offered by specialist dealers.

Subsequent morphological work by Philippine arachnologists and field collectors has shown that “Kordillera” actually belongs in the Philippine genus Orphnaecus (subfamily Selenocosmiinae). This conclusion is based on characters such as a reniform lyrate patch with rows of clavate bacillae, tombstone-shaped spermathecae, and lanceolate cheliceral strikers—features considered typical for Orphnaecus. As a result, many sellers now list the species as Orphnaecus sp. “Kordillera” or “Kordillera Blue”, while still acknowledging the older trade name.

Despite its popularity, “Kordillera” has not yet received a formal Latin species name in the peer-reviewed taxonomic literature and is still treated as an undescribed species endemic to the Philippines. Within Selenocosmiinae it represents a classic Asian earth-tiger type tarantula: an Old World, stridulating, heavily webbing burrower with a reputation for strong defensive behavior. Adults reach roughly 5–6″ diagonal leg span, combining dark metallic blue legs with a peach-to-tan carapace and abdomen—an eye-catching contrast that has quickly made this mountain species a favorite among collectors worldwide.

The hobby spelling “Kordillera” (with a “K”) is a nod to its origin in the Cordillera mountain region of northern Luzon and may eventually be echoed in whatever official species name future taxonomic work assigns.

Natural Habitat

“Kordillera” is native to the high, cool mountains of the Cordillera Administrative Region in northern Luzon, Philippines. This is a true highland area dominated by the Cordillera Central range, with slopes typically around 900–1600 m elevation cloaked in dense montane and cloud forest.

These forests are humid year-round, receiving roughly 2–3 meters of rain annually, with only a short, mild dry season compared to the lowlands. Daytime highs in Philippine montane forest usually sit around 21–26 °C, and keepers from the region report a broader natural range of about 8–29 °C across the seasons in the Cordilleras.

On the forest floor, the habitat is cool, shaded and cluttered with thick leaf litter, rotting wood and deep, humus-rich soil. Montane and upper montane forests here have moss-covered roots, abundant ferns, vines and epiphytes, plus a soft, moisture-retentive soil layer—ideal for a fossorial tarantula. Collection notes and hobby accounts describe “Kordillera” as a burrowing, heavily webbing species that digs deep tunnels in moist earth and often anchors its retreat under rocks, roots or fallen branches.

Our Specimen

Given name: TBD

Sex: Male

Life stage: Adult