''Avicularia'' 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 ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Theraphosidae 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 m ...

containing various

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

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. The genus is native to

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

and tropical

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 ...

. Each species in the genus has very distinguishable pink foot pads. Species belonging to this genus are amongst the relatively small exception of tarantulas that can jump moderate distances as juveniles, with most tarantulas being limited to lunges of 3-4 centimeters.

Urticating hair Urticating hairs or urticating bristles are one of the primary defense mechanisms used by numerous plants, almost all New World tarantulas, and various lepidopteran caterpillars. ''Urtica'' is Latin for "nettle" (stinging nettles are in the genu ...

s are distinct to

new world The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

tarantulas including the Avicularia that are attached to the spider's cuticle ''via'' a stalk. These spiny, barbed hairs are used as a defense against potential intruders as well as embedded into silk to protect the egg sac. In active defense, the hairs are released by contact with the stimulus and rubbed in. At least three species of Avicularia are threatened by habitat loss and illegal trafficking, due to their popularity as exotic pets. '' Avicularia avicularia'' are among the tarantulas most commonly kept as pets for their "stunning" color and size.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Avicularia'' was erected in 1818 by

Jean-Baptiste Lamarck Jean-Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, chevalier de Lamarck (1 August 1744 – 18 December 1829), often known simply as Lamarck (; ), was a French naturalist, biologist, academic, and soldier. He was an early proponent of the idea that biologi ...

for species previously placed in ''Mygale'' Latreille, 1802, the genus name used at the time for most

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. One of the species Lamarck included in his new genus was ''Avicularia canceridea'', which included ''Aranea avicularia'', first described by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in 1758. Araneologists continued to use the name ''Mygale'', although this had been used for genus of mammals in 1800, so was not available for Latreille to use for spiders. Ausserer in 1871 used ''Avicularia'', but a degree of confusion persisted until a decision of the

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries. Orga ...

in 1928 established the correctness of ''Avicularia'', with the type species being Linnaeus' ''Aranea avicularia'' in the combination '' Avicularia avicularia''. Linnaeus' name ''Avicularia'' is derived from the Latin ''avicula'', meaning "little bird", with the suffix ''-aria,'' which is the Latin female singular form of ''-arius,'' meaning "pertaining to." This refers to a 1705 illustration by

Maria Sibylla Merian Maria Sibylla Merian (2 April 164713 January 1717) was a German naturalist and scientific illustrator. She was one of the earliest European naturalists to observe insects directly. Merian was a descendant of the Frankfurt branch of the Swiss Mer ...

, showing a tarantula that appears to be of this genus feeding on a bird. The English names "bird spider" and "bird-eating spider," and the German name for tarantula, ''Vogelspinne'' (a compound noun literally meaning "bird" ogel"spider"

pinne Pniewy (german: Pinne) is a town in Szamotuły County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 7,747 inhabitants as of 2020 including 6 270 women and 5969 meThere is a lake and a beach with access to a playground, stage and a softball pitch. ...

reflect this Latin name. Ironically, the term "bird-eater" is more typically applied to the common names of large

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

species of tarantulas, such as the Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi), the burgundy Goliath bird eater (Theraphosa stirmi), and the Brazilian salmon pink bird-eating tarantula (Lasiodora parahybana). A major review of the genus drastically reduced the number of species recognized, from over 50 to 12, . Some species have been transferred to other genera, with others reduced to

synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

. Yet more names are considered to be doubtful in their application (''

nomina dubia In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...

'').

Species

, the

World Spider Catalog The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...

accepted the following species: *'' Avicularia avicularia'' (Linnaeus, 1758) (

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

) – Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia *'' Avicularia caei'' Fukushima & Bertani, 2017 – Brazil *'' Avicularia glauca'' Simon, 1891 – Panama *'' Avicularia hirschii'' Bullmer, Thierer-Lutz & Schmidt, 2006 – Ecuador, Peru, Brazil *'' Avicularia juruensis'' Mello-Leitão, 1923 – Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil *'' Avicularia lynnae'' Fukushima & Bertani, 2017 – Peru, Ecuador *'' Avicularia merianae'' Fukushima & Bertani, 2017 – Peru *'' Avicularia minatrix'' Pocock, 1903 – Venezuela, Brazil *'' Avicularia purpurea'' Kirk, 1990 – Colombia, Ecuador, Peru *'' Avicularia rufa'' Schiapelli & Gerschman, 1945 – Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil *''

Avicularia taunayi ''Avicularia taunayi'' is a species of spider in the family Theraphosidae found in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America ...

'' (Mello-Leitão, 1920) – Brazil *'' Avicularia variegata'' F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1896 – Venezuela, Brazil Transferred to other genera: *''Avicularia affinis'' (Nicolet, 1849) → '' Euathlus affinis'' *''Avicularia aymara'' (Chamberlin, 1916) → ''

Thrixopelma aymara ''Thrixopelma'' is a genus of South American Theraphosidae, tarantulas that was first described by Günter Schmidt (arachnologist), Günter E. W. Schmidt in 1994. They are medium to large Tarantula, tarantulas, usually being 35mm to 60mm in body l ...

'' *''Avicularia caesia'' (C.L. Koch, 1842) → '' Caribena laeta'' *''Avicularia diversipes'' (C.L. Koch, 1842) → '' Ybyrapora diversipes'' *''Avicularia dubia'' → '' Vitalius dubius'' *''Avicularia duplex'' → '' Aphonopelma duplex'' *''Avicularia embrithes'' → '' Brachypelma embrithes'' *''Avicularia emilia'' → '' Brachypelma emilia'' *''Avicularia epicureana'' → '' Brachypelma epicureanum'' *''Avicularia gamba'' Bertani & Fukushima, 2009 → '' Ybyrapora gamba'' *''Avicularia geotoma'' → '' Aphonopelma geotoma'' *''Avicularia guyana'' → '' Eupalaestrus guyanus'' *''Avicularia hageni'' → ''

Aphonopelma hageni ''Aphonopelma'' is a genus of tarantulas native to the Americas. It includes nearly all the North American tarantula species north of Mexico and a considerable percentage of the tarantula species that range into Central America. Most are fairly ...

'' *''Avicularia helluo'' → '' Aphonopelma helluo'' *''Avicularia hespera'' → ''

Aphonopelma hesperum ''Aphonopelma'' is a genus of tarantulas native to the Americas. It includes nearly all the North American tarantula species north of Mexico and a considerable percentage of the tarantula species that range into Central America. Most are fairly ...

'' *''Avicularia hirsuta'' (Pocock, 1901) → '' Iridopelma hirsutum'' *''Avicularia imperatrix'' → ''

Plesiopelma imperatrix ''Plesiopelma'' is a genus of South American Theraphosidae, tarantulas that was first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1901. ''Plesiopelma'' species are particularly abundant along mountainous ranges, frequently living under stones. Both male ...

'' *''Avicularia laeta'' (C. L. Koch, 1842) → '' Caribena laeta'' *''Avicularia lanceolata'' → '' Aphonopelma lanceolatum'' *''Avicularia latens'' → '' Aphonopelma latens'' *''Avicularia magdalena'' (Karsch, 1879) → '' Hapalopus formosus'' *''Avicularia marxi'' → '' Aphonopelma marxi'' *''Avicularia mendozae'' → '' Grammostola mendozae'' *''Avicularia mesomelas'' → '' Megaphobema mesomelas'' *''Avicularia minax'' (Thorell, 1894) → '' Grammostola doeringi'' *''Avicularia muritelaria'' (Holmberg, 1876) → '' Kukulcani ahibernalis'' (Hentz, 1842) (''

Filistatidae Crevice weaver spiders (Filistatidae) comprise cribellate spiders with features that have been regarded as " primitive" for araneomorph spiders. They are weavers of funnel or tube webs. The family contains 18 genera and more than 120 described sp ...

'') *''Avicularia myodes'' → ''

Plesiopelma myodes ''Plesiopelma'' is a genus of South American tarantulas that was first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1901. ''Plesiopelma'' species are particularly abundant along mountainous ranges, frequently living under stones. Both males and females l ...

'' *''Avicularia obscura'' → '' Ami obscura'' *''Avicularia pallida'' → '' Aphonopelma pallidum'' *''Avicularia palmicola'' (Mello-Leitão, 1945) → '' Iridopelma hirsutum'' *''Avicularia panamensis'' → '' Sericopelma panamense'' *''Avicularia parva'' → '' Catumiri parvum'' *''Avicularia parvior'' → '' Lasiodora parvior'' *''Avicularia pulchra'' (Mello-Leitão, 1933) and ''Avicularia recifiensis'' (Struchen & Brändle, 1996) → ''

Pachistopelma rufonigrum ''Pachistopelma rufonigrum'' is a species of theraphosid, contained within the Aviculariinae subfamily. It is endemic to Brazil. Characteristic features This tarantula differs from '' P. bromelicola'' by having a slender fourth metatarsus, with ...

'' *''Avicularia regina'' (Chamberlin, 1917) → '' Homoeomma strabo'' *''Avicularia rustica'' → '' Aphonopelma rusticum'' *''Avicularia rutilans'' Ausserer, 1875 → '' Caribena versicolor'' *''Avicularia sabulosa'' → '' Brachypelma sabulosum'' *''Avicularia saltator'' (Pocock, 1903) → '' Eupalaestrus weijenberghi'' *''Avicularia seemanni'' → '' Aphonopelma seemani'' *''Avicularia seladonia'' → ''

Typhochlaena seladonia ''Typhochlaena seladonia'' is a species of aviculariine tarantula, and is the type species of the genus ''Typhochlaena''. It is unique as an arboreal spider that constructs trapdoors in the bark of trees. The common name is the Brazilian jewel ...

'' *''Avicularia serrata'' → '' Aphonopelma serratum'' *''Avicularia smithi'' → '' Brachypelma smithi'' *''Avicularia sooretama'' Bertani & Fukushima, 2009 → '' Ybyrapora sooretama'' *''Avicularia subvulpina'' Strand, 1906 → '' Grammostola subvulpina'' *''Avicularia spinicrus'' → '' Citharacanthus spinicrus'' *''Avicularia steindachneri'' → '' Aphonopelma steindachneri'' *''Avicularia stoica'' → '' Aphonopelma stoicum'' *''Avicularia tamaulipeca'' → '' Clavopelma tamaulipeca'' *''Avicularia tripeppi'' → ''

Nhandu tripepii ''Nhandu tripepii'' is a spider species, and is a theraphosine theraphosid. It is native to Brazil.Aphonopelma truncatum'' *''Avicularia vagans'' → '' Brachypelma vagans'' *''Avicularia vellutina'' → '' Vitalius vellutinus'' *''Avicularia versicolor'' → '' Caribena versicolor'' *''Avicularia violacea'' → '' Tapinauchenius violaceus'' *''Avicularia wacketi'' → '' Vitalius wacketi'' *''Avicularia zorodes'' → '' Iridopelma zorodes'' Treated as synonyms or as ''

'': *''Avicularia ancylochira'' Mello-Leitão, 1923, synonym of ''A. avicularia'' *''Avicularia arabica'' (Strand, 1908), ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia aurantiaca'' Bauer, 1996, ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia azuraklaasi'' Tesmoingt, 1996, ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia bicegoi'' Mello-Leitão, 1923, synonym of '' A. variegata'' *''Avicularia braunshauseni'' Tesmoingt, 1999, ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia cuminami'' Mello-Leitão, 1930, synonym of ''A. avicularia'' *''Avicularia detrita'' (C. L. Koch, 1842), ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia doleschalli'' (Ausserer, 1871), ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia exilis'' Strand, 1907, synonym of ''A. avicularia'' *''Avicularia fasciculata'' Strand, 1907, ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia geroldi'' Tesmoingt, 1999, ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia gracilis'' (Keyserling, 1891) → ''Ischnocolus gracilis'', ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia hirsuta'' (Ausserer, 1875), ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia holmbergi'' Thorell, 1890, ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia huriana'' Tesmoingt, 1996, ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia leporina'' (C. L. Koch, 1841) → ''Iridopelma leporina'', ''nom. dub.'' *'' Avicularia metallica'' Ausserer, 1875, ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia nigrotaeniata'' Mello-Leitão, 1940, synonym of ''A. avicularia'' *''Avicularia ochracea'' (Perty, 1833), ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia plantaris'' (C. L. Koch, 1842) → ''Iridopelma plantaris'', ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia rapax'' (Ausserer, 1875), ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia soratae'' Strand, 1907, ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia surinamensis'' Strand, 1907, ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia ulrichea'' Tesmoingt, 1996, ''nom. dub.'' *''Avicularia urticans'' Schmidt, 1994, synonym of '' A. juruensis'' *''Avicularia velutina'' Simon, 1889, synonym of ''A. avicularia'' *''Avicularia walckenaeri'' (Perty, 1833), ''nom. dub.'' File:Avicularia caei male ZK218.jpg, '' Avicularia caei'' male File:Avicularia hirschii female ZK186.jpg, '' Avicularia hirschii'' female File:Avicularia juruensis male morphotype 2 ZK121.jpg, '' Avicularia juruensis'' male File:Avicularia lynnae male ZK209.jpg, '' Avicularia lynnae'' male File:Avicularia merianae female ZK199.jpg, '' Avicularia merianae'' female File:Avicularia minatrix female ZK88.jpg, '' Avicularia minatrix'' female File:Avicularia purpurea female northern form ZK168.jpg, '' Avicularia purpurea'' female File:Avicularia rufa male ZK146.jpg, '' Avicularia rufa'' male File:Avicularia taunayi female ZK102.jpg, ''

'' female File:Avicularia variegata female morphotype 2 ZK74.jpg, '' Avicularia variegata'' female

References

External links

Tarantulas of the Genus Avicularia

Phong's Tarantula page
{{Authority control Theraphosidae Theraphosidae genera Spiders of South America Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck