Theraphosinae

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Theraphosinae
Grammostola rosea, female with cocoon

Grammostola rosea , female with cocoon

Systematics
Sub-stem : Jawbearers (Chelicerata)
Class : Arachnids (arachnida)
Order : Spiders (Araneae)
Subordination : Tarantulas (Mygalomorphae)
Family : Tarantulas (Theraphosidae)
Subfamily : Theraphosinae
Scientific name
Theraphosinae
Thorell , 1870

The Theraphosinae are the most species-rich subfamily within the tarantulas (Theraphosidae) and contain around 50% of all known tarantula species . The types of the subfamily occur exclusively in America . Due to their interesting appearance and their sometimes considerable size, many of the species from this subfamily are kept and bred by private individuals in terrariums .

distribution

Distribution according to Schmidt

The subfamily includes only tarantula species that are common on the American double continent. Their distribution area extends from the southern states of the USA in the north over the entire Central American isthmus to the south of the South American subcontinent. Only in the extreme south of South America no deposits can be found. Some species of the subfamily are also common on archipelagos in the Caribbean .

features

The body sizes of the individual species vary between 12 mm ( Aphonopelma paloma ) and 11 cm ( Theraphosa blondi ). The representatives of the subfamily Theraphosinae are also known as "bombardier spiders" because they have numerous stinging hairs on the opisthosoma , which they can brush off with their hind legs when threatened and thus irritate their enemies. Only ground-dwelling species occur in the subfamily. Tree-dwelling tarantulas from the same range belong to the subfamilies Aviculariinae and Psalmopoeinae .

behavior

The behavior of the species in this subfamily is very diverse. Some species dig deep, web-lined living tubes into the ground, while other species live under large tree roots, pieces of bark or stones.

Among the tarantulas of the Theraphosinae there are very defensive species, especially in the genera Acanthoscurria , Phormictopus and Theraphosa . The species from the genera Brachypelma and Grammostola are considered to be quite peaceful. In the event of disturbances, most species retreat very quickly into their living tube or cave. Often they also “bomb” the attacker with their stinging hair when they escape. If they continue to be harassed after trying to escape, they first put themselves in a threatening position by straightening their forelegs, and then hit the attacker several times with their forelegs and buttons . As a last resort, they bite down.

The food spectrum of the Theraphosinae depends on the body size and the distribution area of ​​the individual species and thus includes a large selection of prey animals from insects to small vertebrates.

Systematics

The list of the included genera shown here corresponds to the classification by Günther Schmidt from 2003 and was corrected using the World Spider Catalog , as some genera have since lost their status due to revisions and species have been transferred to other genera. The subfamily Theraphosinae comprises 50 genera with about 500 species. (As of January 2020)

A complete listing of all available articles for the individual species of the genera listed here can be found in the list of tarantula species .

Systematic deviations from Schmidt 2003

In the following, the genera are listed whose taxa are meanwhile synonyms for other genera or are assigned to other subfamilies according to the World Spider Catalog , but were still listed as separate species or genera when Schmidt was classified. (As of October 2016)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Natural History Museum of the Burgergemeinde Bern: World Spider Catalog Version 19.5 - Theraphosidae . Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h G. Schmidt: The tarantulas. Westarp Sciences, Hohenwarsleben 2003, ISBN 3-89432-899-1
  3. ↑ Jorge Mendoza and Oscar Francke. 2020. Systematic Revision of Mexican Threatened Tarantulas Brachypelma (Araneae: Theraphosidae: Theraphosinae), with A Description of A New Genus, and Implications on the Conservation. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 188 (1); 82-147. DOI: 10.1093 / zoolinnean / zlz046

Web links

Commons : Theraphosinae  - collection of images, videos and audio files