King baboon spider

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King baboon spider
Pelinobius muticus adult.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Family: Theraphosidae
Genus: Pelinobius
Karsch, 1885 [1]
Species:
P. muticus
Binomial name
Pelinobius muticus
Karsch, 1885
Synonyms [1]

Of genus:

Of species:

  • Citharischius crawshayiPocock, 1900
  • Phoneyusa bettoniPocock, 1898
  • Phoneyusa gregoriiPocock, 1897
  • Phoneyusa rufaBerland, 1914

Pelinobius is a monotypic genus of east African tarantulas (family Theraphosidae) containing the single species, Pelinobius muticus, [1] the king baboon spider.[ citation needed ] It was first described by Ferdinand Anton Franz Karsch in 1885 [3] and is found in Tanzania,Kenya and Zimbabwe. [1]

Contents

Taxonomy

The genus Pelinobius and the species Pelinobius muticus were first described by Ferdinand Karsch in 1885. Independently, Reginald Innes Pocock described Citharischius crawshayi in his new genus Citharischius in 1900. [1] In 1985, Robert Raven synonymized Pelinobius with Phoneyusa , as had been suggested by Pocock in 1898. [4] In 2010, R. C. Gallon restored Pelinobius and made Citharischius a junior synonym, and also made Citharischius crawshayi and some species in the genus Phoneyusa synonyms of P. muticus. [1] [2]

Description

The king baboon spider is rusty brown to orange in color. They live in the shrublands and grasslands of east Africa, often using vegetation as a protective cover for their burrows. They are one of the few tarantulas that use stridulation as a major defense mechanism in addition to rearing up and striking. They produce the stridulation-sound-effect by rubbing the femurs of their first and second pairs of legs.

They are a slow-growing species, but can reach a leg span of up to 20 centimeters. They are burrowing-spiders with thick back-legs used for digging. They generally hunt beetles, cockroaches, and other spiders, and they will put silk near the entrance to its burrow to detect vibrations of passing prey.

In captivity

They are popular among collectors, but they tend to be highly defensive, lacking urticating hairs and are not suitable for beginners. They have very strong venom and their bites are extremely painful, though they are not known to be deadly to humans. A bite from a smaller spider will cause sharp pain and localized itchiness for five days. [5]

Adults can be kept in a converted aquarium if given plenty of ventilation and a substrate at least 25 centimeters deep. Younger spiders can be kept in small containers, such as pill- and waxworm-tubs, but will need deeper containers as they grow. [5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Gen. Pelinobius Karsch, 1885". World Spider Catalog Version. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2 . Retrieved 2025-11-11.
  2. 1 2 Gallon, R. C. (2010). "On some southern African Harpactirinae, with notes on the eumenophorines Pelinobius muticus Karsch, 1885 and Monocentropella Strand, 1907 (Araneae, Theraphosidae)". Bulletin of the British Arachnological Society. 15 (2): 43.
  3. ↑ Karsch, F. (1885). "Verzeichniss der von Dr. G. A. Fischer auf der im Auftrage der geographischen Gesellschaft in Hamburg unternommen Reise in das Massai-Land gesammelten Myriopoden und Arachnoiden". Jahrbuch der Hamburgischen Wissenschaftlichen Anstalten. 2: 131–139.
  4. ↑ Raven, R.J. (1985). "The spider infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): Cladistics and systematics". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 182: 1–180. Retrieved 2025-11-11. p. 157.
  5. 1 2 Klátil, Lubomír (1998). Sklípkani: krasavci s chlupatýma nohama (in Czech). Nakl. Kabourek Zlín. pp. 37, 40. ISBN   978-80-901466-5-5.


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