Avicularia is a genus of the family Theraphosidae containing various species of arboreal tarantulas. The genus is native to Panama, the Caribbean, and tropical South America. Each species in the genus has very distinguishable pink foot pads.
Avaruarachne is a genus of jumping spiders containing the single species Avaruarachne satchelli. The species was first described by Brian John Marples in 1955 as Avarua satchelli, but Avarua was discovered to be preoccupied and was replaced by Avaruarachne by Danniella Sherwood in 2021. It has only been found in the Cook Islands.
Pamphobeteus is a genus of tarantulas that was first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1901. It includes some of the largest spiders in the world. They are found in South America, including the countries of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia and Panama.
Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. As of December 2023, 1,100 species have been identified, with 166 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although many other members of the same infraorder (Mygalomorphae) are commonly referred to as "tarantulas" or "false tarantulas". Some of the more common species have become popular in the exotic pet trade. Many New World species kept as pets have setae known as urticating hairs that can cause irritation to the skin, and in extreme cases, cause damage to the eyes.
Neischnocolus is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus Ami was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a junior synonym of Neischnocolus. Species are native to Central America and northern South America.
María Elena Galiano was an Argentine arachnologist. She was one of the leading taxonomists of Neotropical jumping spiders. Galiano worked at the Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum in Buenos Aires. She died in an accident on October 30, 2000. The genera Galianora and Galianoella are named in her honor.
Davus pentaloris is a species of New World tarantula native to Mexico and Guatemala. Davus was at one time considered to be a synonym of Cyclosternum, and its species were placed in that genus, but this is no longer accepted.
Thrixopelma is a genus of South American tarantulas that was first described by Günter E. W. Schmidt in 1994. They are medium to large tarantulas, usually being 35mm to 60mm in body length.
Homoeomma is a genus of South American tarantulas that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871. It is considered a senior synonym of Calopelma, Butantania, and of Cyclothoracoides. These tarantulas are usually quite small and usually burrow a few centimeters under a rock or log.
Phormingochilus is a genus of Bornean tarantulas that was first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1895. They are occasionally kept as exotic pets, and are known for moving in bursts of speed and being defensive when cornered.
Xenesthis is a genus of tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1891. As of February 2024 it contains five species, found in Colombia and Venezuela, though it was previously considered to be found in Panama.
Melognathus is a monotypic genus of southeast Asian tarantulas containing the single species, Melognathus dromeus. It was erected in 1917 for a holotype collected from a ship that visited southeast Asia. In 1985, the species was moved to Cyriopagopus because the autapomorphies were not considered significant enough to warrant a new genus. Opinions between biologists were split, some using the original name and some using Cyriopagopus. In a 2019 report, Gabriel and Sherwood pointed out that in addition to the differences in pedipalp morphology, the holotype exhibits leg features that indicate an arboreal species, while species of Cyriopagopus are largely terrestrial. The ambiguous location of the holotype has left room for speculation, but as of February 2022 the World Spider Catalog accepts this genus.
Lubinella is a genus of spiders in the family Uloboridae. It was first described in 1984 by Opell. This genus was named after arachnologist Yael D. Lubin. As of 2017, it contains only one species, Lubinella morobensis, from New Guinea.
Rick C. West is a Canadian arachnologist and an expert on the taxonomy of tarantula spiders. West was born in Victoria, British Columbia. He has been interested in spiders since childhood, and collected his first tarantula, Aphonopelma eutylenum, at the age of 13. He worked primarily as a Chief Constable for a local Animal Humane Society, but also have been involved with the collecting, breeding, rearing and photography of theraphosid spiders. West has traveled to over 27 countries to document and study them in their environment, has been a host, presenter and co-producer in several tarantula documentaries and has also described several genera and species.
Idiothele mira, also known as the blue-foot baboon or the trap-door tarantula, is a species of tarantula endemic to South Africa and is popularized by hobbyists for the striking blue coloration on the ventral side of the tarsi and metatarsi on each leg. Furthermore, the species is well known for belonging to one of two described genera of theraphosids that build a trapdoor, the other being Typhochlaena.
Hapalopus coloratus is a species of tarantula found in Panama. It was first described by Carlos E. Valerio in 1982 as Metriopelma coloratum. It was transferred to the genus Hapalopus in 2016.
Spinosatibiapalpus is a genus of tarantulas erected by Gabriel and Sherwood in 2020 for a newly discovered species and two other previously described species bearing a unique palpal bulb morphology. The name is a reference to the spines found on the fourth section of the pedipalp in adult males. This distinctive feature was also found in Pseudhapalopus species, but because it is never mentioned in the original description of that genus, Gabriel and Sherwood called into question the validity of Pseudohapalopus, and moved all its species except P. aculeatus, known only from a single male found in Bolivia in 1907. It is impossible to place P. aculeatus because the holotype was destroyed when the museum housing it was bombed during World War II, and it has been declared as nomen dubium.
Umbyquyra gurleyi is a tarantula in the genus Umbyquyra, it is found in Brazil in Goiás in the National Park "Emas", it was first described by Danniella Sherwood and Ray Gabriel in 2020. It was named in honor of American herpetologist Russ Gurley, for his contributions and friendship to the authors.
Anqasha is a monotypic genus of Peruvian tarantulas, containing one species, Anqasha picta, first described by Danniella Sherwood and Ray Gabriel in 2022. The type species was initially described under the name Hapalopus pictus in 1903 by Reginald Innes Pocock, but was later moved to the Homoeomma genus, until finally becoming Anqasha. Its name comes from the Quechuan word for blue, "anqash".
Acanthoscurria simoensi is a species of tarantula spider found in Guyana, French Guiana, and Brazil, first described from French Guiana in 2000. The species has been traded in the exotic pet hobby as "Para Mongo Zebra” under spurious scientific names such as 'fracta'. The common name partly relates to the colouration where the females of the species have dark bodies with light coloured linear markings on legs. Notably, like in many other tarantulas with strong sexual dimorpsim, adult males of the species have a different general appearance with a more rusty metallic colouration and comparatively weak linear markings on the legs.
