| Selenocosmiinae | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Selenocosmia stirlingi | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Clade: | Avicularioidea |
| Family: | Theraphosidae |
| Subfamily: | Selenocosmiinae Simon, 1889 |
The Selenocosmiinae [1] are a subfamily of tarantulas (Mygalomorphae: Theraphosidae) 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. [2] [3] 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.
