The Aviculariinae are a subfamily of

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s in the family Theraphosidae (

tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

s). They can be distinguished from other theraphosids by a number of characters. Their legs have no or few spines on the underside (ventral surface) of the tibial and metatarsal joints of the legs. The last two leg joints (the metatarsi and tarsi) have brushes of hairs (scopulae) that extend sideways, particularly on the front legs, giving them a spoon-like (spatulate) appearance. Females have two completely separated

spermatheca The spermatheca (pronounced plural: spermathecae ), also called receptaculum seminis (plural: receptacula seminis), is an organ of the female reproductive tract in insects, e.g. ants, bees, some molluscs, oligochaeta worms and certain other ...

Taxonomy

The earliest classification of the

mygalomorph 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 the ...

spiders to include sufficient genera to be reasonably comprehensive was that of

Eugène Simon Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider taxonomist in history, describing over 4, ...

in 1892. He recognized only two mygalomorph families; his Avicularidae taxon includes at least 12 modern families. The earliest equivalent to the modern subfamily Aviculariinae is considered to be Simon's 1889 tribe Aviculariae, which included three genera: ''

Avicularia ''Avicularia'' is a genus of the family Theraphosidae containing various species of arboreal tarantulas. The genus is native to Panama, the Caribbean and tropical South America. Each species in the genus has very distinguishable pink foot pads. ...

'', '' Tapinauchenius'' and ''Scodra'' (now '' Stromatopelma''). The

circumscription Circumscription may refer to: *Circumscribed circle *Circumscription (logic) *Circumscription (taxonomy) * Circumscription theory, a theory about the origins of the political state in the history of human evolution proposed by the American anthrop ...

of the subfamily has varied considerably. Both the limits of the subfamily and the limits of its genera have been controversial. In his 1985 monograph on the Mygalomorphae,

Robert Raven Robert John Raven is an Australian arachnologist, being the Head of Terrestrial Biodiversity and the Senior Curator (Arachnida) at the Queensland Museum. Dr Raven has described many species of spider in Australia and elsewhere, and is spider bit ...

included only four genera, ''Avicularia'', ''

Iridopelma ''Iridopelma'' is a genus of Brazilian tarantulas that was first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1901. Diagnosis Males of this genus can be distinguished by the tibial spurs on leg 1 and 2, while females differ from most other genera by the ...

'', ''

Pachistopelma ''Pachistopelma'' is a genus of Brazilian tarantulas that was first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1901. it contains two species, found in Brazil: '' P. bromelicola'' and '' P. rufonigrum''. They have a straight front eye row and males hav ...

'', and ''Tapinauchenius''. Günter Schmidt in 2003 included ''Iridopelma'' in ''Avicularia'', but added ''

Ephebopus ''Ephebopus'' is a genus of northeastern South American tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1892. Its relation to other tarantulas is one of the most uncertain in the family, and it has been frequently moved around and h ...

'' and ''

Psalmopoeus Psalmopoeus is a genus of the family ''Theraphosidae'' containing various species of tarantulas. The genus is native to Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil, Belize, Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico, Guat ...

'' to the subfamily. Authors from 2008 onwards have included a wider range of genera, sometimes newly recognized ones. A 2017 morphological phylogenetic study provided evidence that the subfamily is

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

. The authors' preferred hypothesis for the relationships within the Aviculariinae is shown below, based on the species from each genus included in the study.

Genera

A 2017 monograph included the following genera, three newly erected: * ''

Antillena ''Antillena'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas). , the genus contained a single species, ''Antillena rickwesti'', found in the Dominican Republic. Taxonomy The species was first described in 2013 by Rogério Bertani ...

'' Fukushima & Bertani, 2017 * ''

'' Lamarck, 1818 * ''

Caribena ''Caribena'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas), found in the Antilles. The two species accepted were formerly placed in ''Avicularia''. Apart from a different distribution – ''Avicularia'' species are found in mai ...

'' Fukushima & Bertani, 2017 * ''

'' Simon, 1892 * '' Heteroscodra'' Pocock, 1899 * ''

'' Pocock, 1901 * ''

'' Pocock, 1895 * '' Stromatopelma'' Karsch, 1881 * '' Tapinauchenius'' Ausserer, 1871 * ''

Typhochlaena ''Typhochlaena'' is a genus of small-bodied tarantulas with an arboreal trapdoor lifestyle. All the species except for ''T. seladonia'' were first described by Rogério Bertani in 2012. Characteristics ''Typhochlaena'' differs from all o ...

'' C.L. Koch, 1850 * ''

Ybyrapora ''Ybyrapora'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas), found in Brazil. Its species were formerly placed in the genus '' Avicularia''. Description ''Ybrapora'' consists of species that are smaller than most aviculariines. ...

'' Fukushima & Bertani, 2017

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q790910 Theraphosidae Spider subfamilies