Tarantula - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

The family Theraphosidae is divided up into 12 subfamilies, containing over 100 genera and around 900 species between them.

• Acanthopelminae, first described by Frederick Octavius Pickard-Cambridge in 1897, is a subfamily of small, terrestrial new-world tarantulas. This subfamily has only one genus, Acanthopelma, and two species, A. beccarri and A. rufescens, found in Guyana and Central America.

• Aviculariinae is a subfamily of tropical, tree-dwelling new-world tarantulas. They range from the Caribbean to South America, and are commonly known as "pinktoe" tarantulas. The genera Avicularia, Ephebopus, and Pachistopelma possess urticating hairs, but cannot "flick" them into the air; instead the hairs are pressed into an enemy upon contact.

• Eumenophorinae is a subfamily of old-world tarantulas, mostly from Africa and surrounding regions. In addition, some authors place genus Proshapalopus (a genus found in Brazil, and not in Africa) in this sub-family.

• Harpactirinae is a group of old-world tarantulas from Africa, though smaller than Eumenophorinae. They are known as baboon spiders for their hairy legs and the thick black scorpulae at the end of their feet, which are said to resemble baboons.

• Ischnocolinae contains spiders from around the world.

• The "earth tigers" of subfamily Ornithoctoninae form a group of old-world tarantulas which are found primarily in Southeast Asia, southern China, and Borneo. This group includes the infamous Chinese bird spider.

• Poecilotheriinae are tree spiders from India and Sri Lanka, some of which are considered endangered. This subfamily contains only a single genus.

• Selenocosmiinae is a subfamily which consists mainly of tarantulas from East Asia and Australia. Like the East Asian tarantulas in Ornithoctoninae, these are known for their strong venom and defensive disposition. The genera Psalmopoeus and Tapinauchenius do not have urticating hairs, unusual among new-world species.

• Selenogyrinae is a subfamily of tarantulas from India and Africa.

• Stromatopelminae are tree-dwelling tarantulas from western Africa.

• Theraphosinae are new-world terrestrial tarantulas with urticating hairs. The majority of spiders kept as pets are of this sub-family, including Brachypelma, a genus of tropical new-world species generally considered docile and good starter species by those who keep tarantulas as pets.

• Thrigmopoeinae are Indian tarantulas.

A few genera are presently not well classified, and/or have classifications which are disputed, including Brachionopus.