Theraphosa is a genus of South American tarantulas that was first described by Charles Athanase Walckenaer in 1805. The Theraphosa spiders are some of the largest known to science. As of May 2020 it contains three species, found in Guyana, Brazil, Venezuela, and Colombia. They stridulate by rubbing setae on their pedipalps and legs.
Phormictopus is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas) that occurs in the West Indies, mainly Cuba and Hispaniola, with three species probably misplaced in this genus found in Brazil and Argentina.
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.
Cyriocosmus is a genus of tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. They are small to medium spiders, with a bicolored or one same color carapace.
Anoploscelus is a genus of East African tarantulas that was first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1897. It was erected for the species Anoploscelus celeripes, based on a single male collected near Lake Tanganyika in modern day Tanzania. It was synonymized with Phoneyusa from 1985 to 1990. As of December 2019 it contains two species, including A. lesserti, first found in Rwanda in 1946.
The Stromatopelminae are a subfamily of tarantulas native to West Africa and part of Central Africa. The subfamily was first proposed by Günter Schmidt in 1993.
The Ischnocolinae are a problematic subfamily of tarantulas. In 1892, Eugène Simon based the group, which he noted was only weakly homogeneous, on the presence of divided tarsal scopulae. This feature was later considered to be plesiomorphic, and both morphological and molecular phylogenetic studies have shown that, as traditionally circumscribed, the subfamily is not monophyletic. A much more narrowly defined Ischnocolinae sensu stricto was proposed in 2014. One of the authors of that proposal subsequently said that no further taxonomic changes should be considered until there had been a more comprehensive sampling of the subfamily. As of January 2021, the status of the Ischnocolinae remains unresolved.
Neoheterophrictus is a genus of tarantula in the family Theraphosidae. It comprises 8 species, all found in India.
Catumiri is a genus of South American tarantulas that was first described by J. P. L. Guadanucci in 2004. The name is derived from the Tupi "Catumiri", meaning "very small".
Chaetopelma is a genus of tarantulas that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871. They are found in Africa and Asia including the countries of Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Sudan, Cameroon, and now even Iran.
Holothele is a genus of tarantulas that was first described by Ferdinand Anton Franz Karsch in 1879. Originally placed with the curtain-web spiders, it was transferred to the tarantulas in 1980.
Trichopelma is a genus of South American and Caribbean tarantulas first described by Eugène Simon in 1888.
Cyrtopholis is a genus of tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1892.
Stichoplastoris is a genus of Central American tarantulas that was first described by J.-P. Rudloff in 1997.
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.
Tliltocatl kahlenbergi is a species of spider in the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas), found in Mexico.
Tliltocatl schroederi is a species of spiders in the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas), found in Mexico. It is found in the central valley in Oaxaca State, Mexico.
Umbyquyra is a genus of South American tarantulas first described in 2018.
Tliltocatl is a genus of North American tarantulas that was split off from Brachypelma in 2020. They are also large burrowing tarantulas, but don't have the striking red leg markings of Brachypelma species. A female T. vagans can grow up to 50 mm (2.0 in) long and legs can get as long as 55 mm (2.2 in). They are found predominantly in Mexico, with some species native to Central America. The name is derived from two Nahuatl words, "tlil", meaning "black", and "tocatl", meaning "spider". Habitat destruction and collection for the pet trade has led to this and Brachypelma to be protected under International Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species rules, beginning with B. smithi.
Yanomamius is a genus of South American tarantulas first erected by Rogério Bertani and M. Q. Almeida in 2021 for two newly discovered species and one previously described species from Brazil. In one of Bertani's prior studies, he investigated a tarantula collected by the Yanomami as a source of food. Based on the limited material available for study- two adult females and one immature spider- the species was placed into Holothele. The next year, it was moved to newly erected genus Guyruita due, in part, to the multi-lobed shape of its spermathecae. When the first male was found and described, the diagnostic characteristics didn't match that of Holothele or Guyruita, so a new genus was erected for Y. waikoshiemi and three other closely related species.
