Selenocosmia stirlingi

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Barking spider
Selenocosmia stirlingi - Christopher Watson.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Family: Theraphosidae
Genus: Selenocosmia
Species:
S. stirlingi
Binomial name
Selenocosmia stirlingi
Hogg, 1901

Selenocosmia stirlingi is a species of tarantula (family Theraphosidae) that is native to the arid regions of Australia. It is sometimes also referred to as a barking spider or whistling spider as this species, like many tarantulas, can stridulate to produce a "hissing" sound when disturbed or threatened. [1] This species is largely fossorial, living in burrows deep underground, however males are sometimes encountered during the breeding season.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Taxonomy and naming

This species was originally described by Henry R Hogg in 1901. [2] However, early research from 1894 had noted that this species could produce an audible sound. [1] This is likely how the species got the name "the barking spider".[ according to whom? ]Selenocosmia stirlingi is a member of the Selenocosmiinae subfamily, which is widespread throughout Australia and South-East Asia. [3]

Habitat

Display in the Australian Museum AustralianMuseum spider specimen 55.JPG
Display in the Australian Museum

Barking spiders live in the Australian desert and are ambush predators from burrows placed among leaf litter.[ citation needed ]

Prey

Barking spiders wait in their burrows for insects, lizards or frogs to come near the entrance before grasping and injecting venom into them.[ citation needed ] Their venom has not been found to be medically significant to humans.[ citation needed ]

Predators

As it is a small animal, the barking spider has quite a lot of predators even in the desert. Some of these include owls, dingoes and feral cats.[ citation needed ]

Adaptations

The barking spider depends on special adaptations to survive in its natural habitat. They have a gill-like lung that requires humidity and strong claws that enables them to dig burrows and stay cool. Barking spiders also have bushy feet with some secreted oil which produces a suction-cup ability, which allows them to easily climb up steep rocks in the desert.[ citation needed ]

Pet trade

This species as well as several other tarantula species within Australia are sometimes collected and sold as pets. The extent of collecting from the wild has not been well characterised, but illegal collecting and harvesting of wild populations are likely to be detrimental to the species.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

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The Mygalomorphae, or mygalomorphs, are an infraorder of spiders, and comprise one of three major groups of living spiders with over 3000 species, found on all continents except Antarctica. Many members are known as trapdoor spiders due to them forming trapdoors over their burrows. Other prominent groups include Australian funnel web spiders and tarantulas, with the latter accounting for around one third of all mygalomorphs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian funnel-web spider</span> Family of mygalomorph spiders

Atracidae is a family of mygalomorph spiders, commonly known as Australian funnel-web spiders or atracids. It has been included as a subfamily of the Hexathelidae, but is now recognized as a separate family. All members of the family are native to Australia. Atracidae consists of three genera: Atrax, Hadronyche, and Illawarra, comprising 35 species. Some members of the family produce venom that is dangerous to humans, and bites by spiders of six of the species have caused severe injuries to victims. The bites of the Sydney funnel-web spider and northern tree-dwelling funnel-web spider are potentially deadly, but no fatalities have occurred since the introduction of modern first-aid techniques and antivenom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mutillidae</span> Family of wasps

The Mutillidae are a family of more than 7,000 species of wasps whose wingless females resemble large, hairy ants. Their common name velvet ant refers to their dense pile of hair, which most often is bright scarlet or orange, but may also be black, white, silver, or gold. Their bright colors serve as aposematic signals. They are known for their extremely painful stings,, and has resulted in the common name "cow killer" or "cow ant" being applied to the species Dasymutilla occidentalis. However, mutillids are not aggressive and sting only in defense. In addition, the actual toxicity of their venom is much lower than that of honey bees or harvester ants. Unlike true ants, they are solitary, and lack complex social systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntsman spider</span> Family of spiders (Sparassidae)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spider wasp</span> Family of wasps

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<i>Selenocosmia crassipes</i> Species of spider

Selenocosmia crassipes, synonym Phlogius crassipes, also known as the "Queensland whistling tarantula", "barking spider" or "bird-eating tarantula" is a species of tarantula native to the east coast of Queensland, Australia. The name "whistling tarantula" comes from its ability to produce a hissing noise when provoked, a trait it shares with other Australian theraphosids. This hissing is produced by the spider stridulating a patch of setae associated with its chelicerae. It has also been called the "eastern tarantula". The species name crassipes is Latin for "fat leg" referring to the relatively fat front legs.

<i>Cyriopagopus hainanus</i> Species of spider

Cyriopagopus hainanus is a species of spider in the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas), found in China. It is one of a number of species from China and Vietnam known as "Chinese bird spider". It produces a venom containing numerous compounds capable of blocking neurotransmitters, including neurotoxic peptides called hainantoxins.

<i>Selenocosmia</i> Genus of spiders

Selenocosmia is a genus of tarantulas that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871. The genus is found in China, New Guinea, Indonesia, Australia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, India and Pakistan. They are commonly referred to as whistling or barking spiders, due to their ability to stridulate using lyra hairs.

<i>Aphonopelma chalcodes</i> Species of spider

Aphonopelma chalcodes, commonly known as the western desert tarantula, Arizona blonde tarantula or Mexican blonde tarantula is a species of spider belonging to the family Theraphosidae. It has a limited distribution in the deserts of Arizona and adjacent parts of Mexico but can be very common within this range. The common name "blond tarantula" refers to the carapace, which is densely covered in pale hairs, and contrasts strongly with the all-dark legs and abdomen. Additionally, these spiders have low toxicity, a long life expectancy, and several offspring.

<i>Tliltocatl albopilosus</i> Species of spider

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<i>Poecilotheria regalis</i> Species of arachnid

Poecilotheria regalis is a species of arboreal tarantula and is found in parts of India. The common name for this spider is Indian ornamental tree spider, or simply Indian ornamental. It is one of the most popular arboreal tarantulas for amateur collectors. Their leg span sometimes exceeds 7 inches (18 cm).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarantula</span> Family of spiders

Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. As of August 2022, 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 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.

<i>Hemipepsis ustulata</i> Species of wasp

Hemipepsis ustulata is a species of tarantula hawk wasp native to the Southwestern United States. Tarantula hawks are a large, conspicuous family of long-legged wasps that prey on tarantulas. They use their long legs to grapple with their prey before paralyzing them with a powerful sting. Their stings are ranked as some of the most painful in the insect world according to the Schmidt sting pain index. They are solitary, displaying lekking territorial behavior in their mating rituals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selenocosmiinae</span> Subfamily of tarantulas

The Selenocosmiinae are a subfamily of tarantulas found throughout South-East Asia and Australia. This subfamily is defined by the presence of a lyra on the maxillae and strikers on the chelicerae, allowing these spiders to stridulate and produce a "hissing" sound. However some species within Phlogiellus may have secondary lost their lyra but retain their strikers. The monophyly of the subfamily has been only tested using genetic data with a handful of genera or species in a few studies. However, these studies found genera that had been previously placed in this subfamily were actual their own separate subfamily (Poecilotheria) and that Selenocosmiinae is most closely related to the Indian Thrigmopoeinae. As of 2021, Selenocosmiinae contains 11 genera.

References

  1. 1 2 Spencer, Baldwin (1894). On the presence and strucutre of a striduatling organ in Phlogius (Phrictus) crassipes. pp. 413–415.
  2. Hogg, H. R. (1901). On Australian and New Zealand spiders of the suborder Mygalomorphae. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London71(1): 218-279.
  3. Lüddecke, Tim; Krehenwinkel, Henrik; Canning, Gregory; Glaw, Frank; Longhorn, Stuart J.; Tänzler, René; Wendt, Ingo; Vences, Miguel (2018-02-01). "Discovering the silk road: Nuclear and mitochondrial sequence data resolve the phylogenetic relationships among theraphosid spider subfamilies". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 119: 63–70. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2017.10.015. ISSN   1055-7903. PMID   29104141.