''Cupiennius'', known by the common name bromeliad spiders or as the often confused name banana spiders, is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

araneomorph The Araneomorphae (also called the Labidognatha) are an infraorder of spiders. They are distinguishable by chelicerae (fangs) that point diagonally forward and cross in a pinching action, in contrast to the Mygalomorphae (tarantulas and their cl ...

spiders in the family

Trechaleidae Trechaleidae (''tre-kah-LEE-ih-dee'') is a family of Araneomorphae, araneomorph spiders first described by Eugène Simon in 1890, and includes about 140 described species in 16 genera. They all live in Central America, Central and South America e ...

, named by

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 1891. They are found from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

to northwestern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, and on some

Caribbean islands Almost all of the Caribbean islands are in the Caribbean Sea, with only a few in inland lakes. The largest island is Cuba. Other sizable islands include Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago. Some of the smaller islands are re ...

. Unlike the dangerously venomous ''

Phoneutria ''Phoneutria'' is a genus of spiders in the family Ctenidae. Phoneutria venom is potentially medically significant to humans. They are mainly found in northern South America, with one species in Central America. Members of the genus are commo ...

'', bites from these spiders typically have only minor effects on humans, and have been compared to a

bee sting A bee sting is the wound and pain caused by the stinger of a female bee puncturing skin. Bee stings differ from insect bites, with the venom of stinging insects having considerable chemical variation. The reaction of a person to a bee sting may ...

. Members of this genus come in a range of sizes, from

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

lengths less than to large species, with a cephalothorax length of . The larger species are sometimes found far outside their native ranges in shipments of fruits, where they are frequently confused with ''

'' spiders.

Description

These spiders hide during the day then come out to hunt during the night. They usually hide in particular plants, usually in

bromeliads The Bromeliaceae (the bromeliads) are a family of monocot flowering plants of about 80 genera and 3700 known species, native mainly to the tropical Americas, with several species found in the American subtropics and one in tropical west Africa, ...

agaves ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for i ...

and the banana family. They are medium to large spiders, and are usually a grey, brown or orange color. Sometimes owning a striped pattern. They have relatively longer legs then their bodies.

Retreat

These spiders hide during the day then come out to hunt during the night. They are quite specific with their retreats. They usually hide in

and the banana family. If these leaves are exposed they would usually stick together leaves or make tunnels by bending or rolling up leaves and pasting them with silk. The inside of the retreat is usually more humid then the outside during the day, usually being at 90% humidity, as drying up is a considerable risk for them.

Hunting

They hunt at night, hunting in the plants leaf, rather than waiting in their retreat. They do this in what we consider total darkness. Instead of using their eyes to see the prey, they use small vibrations, which they may feel up to several meters away. Although the do still have advanced eyes. To feel these vibrations they have specialized organs called

metatarsal The metatarsal bones, or metatarsus, are a group of five long bones in the foot, located between the tarsal bones of the hind- and mid-foot and the phalanges of the toes. Lacking individual names, the metatarsal bones are numbered from the med ...

lyriform organs. Which are located in the metatarsus of the two front legs. These organs consist of tiny slits, which are parallel to one another, looking like a

lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke ...

. When the tarsus is moved by the vibration, they compress, which stimulates the nervous system.

Courtship

These spiders own a very unique courtship system. Once it's time to breed the female will leave a dragline made of silk, wherever she walks to. Once the male recognizes the thread of the female, it will start sending vibrations to the plant the string was found on. Being distinct to each species. If the females replies, the male will follow the vibrations to the female.

Species

it contains eleven species: *''

Cupiennius bimaculatus ''Cupiennius'', known by the common name bromeliad spiders or as the often confused name banana spiders, is a genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Trechaleidae, named by Eugène Simon in 1891. They are found from Mexico to northwestern Sou ...

'' (

Taczanowski Taczanowski (Polish feminine: Taczanowska; plural: Taczanowscy) is the surname of a Polish szlachta (nobility) family from Poznań bearing the Jastrzębiec coat of arms and the motto: ''Plus penser que dire''. They took their name from th ...

, 1874) – Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Guyana, Ecuador *''

Cupiennius chiapanensis ''Cupiennius'', known by the common name bromeliad spiders or as the often confused name banana spiders, is a genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Trechaleidae, named by Eugène Simon in 1891. They are found from Mexico to northwestern Sou ...

'' Medina, 2006 – Mexico *'' Cupiennius coccineus'' F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1901 – Costa Rica to Colombia *'' Cupiennius cubae''

Strand Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline *Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa *Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * Strand Street, ...

, 1909 – Cuba, Costa Rica to Venezuela *'' Cupiennius foliatus'' F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1901 – Costa Rica, Panama *'' Cupiennius getazi'' Simon, 1891 ( type) – Costa Rica, Panama *'' Cupiennius granadensis'' ( Keyserling, 1877) – Costa Rica to Colombia *'' Cupiennius remedius'' Barth & Cordes, 1998 – Guatemala *''

Cupiennius salei ''Cupiennius salei'', commonly called the tiger bromeliad spider, are large bodied, actively-hunting spiders that are part of the family Trechaleidae. They are found in Central America and Mexico, while other species in the genus are also found ...

'' (Keyserling, 1877) – Mexico, Central America, Hispaniola *''

Cupiennius valentinei ''Cupiennius'', known by the common name bromeliad spiders or as the often confused name banana spiders, is a genus of araneomorph spiders in the family Trechaleidae, named by Eugène Simon in 1891. They are found from Mexico to northwestern Sou ...

'' ( Petrunkevitch, 1925) – Panama *'' Cupiennius vodou'' Brescovit & Polotow, 2005 – Hispaniola

References

External links

Cupiennius getazi banana spider
Araneomorphae genera Trechaleidae Spiders of Central America Spiders of Mexico Spiders of South America Taxa named by Eugène Simon {{Trechaleidae-stub