''Hexathele'' is a genus of funnel-web spiders endemic to New Zealand that was first described by

Anton Ausserer Anton Ausserer (5 July 184320 July 1889)Maurer, Ferdinand: ''Nachruf an Dr. Anton Ausserer.'' Programm des kk. acad. Gymnasiums in Grätz. Graz 1890 was an Austrian naturalist specialising in spiders.Bonnet, Pierre: Bibliographia aranearum, Les ...

in 1871, though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was moved to the Hexathelidae in 1980.

Description

Most species of ''Hexathele'' are relatively large spiders. Females of ''

Hexathele waita ''Hexathele'' is a genus of funnel-web spiders endemic to New Zealand that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871, though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was m ...

'', one of the largest species, may have a carapace long and an abdomen long, with the longest leg (the fourth) being long in total. ''Hexethele'' species are generally brown to black in colour. Many species have a chevron pattern on the upper surface of the abdomen, the pattern being characteristic of the species. The carapace of the

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 ...

has a more or less straight depression (

fovea Fovea () (Latin for "pit"; plural foveae ) is a term in anatomy. It refers to a pit or depression in a structure. Human anatomy *Fovea centralis of the retina * Fovea buccalis or Dimple * Fovea of the femoral head * Trochlear fovea of the fr ...

) in the centre. The eyes are arranged in a compact group. The male palp lacks tibial apophyses (projections), but the male's first pair of legs have double spines on the tibia. There are six spinnerets, with the posterior pair being three-segmented and relatively long.

Taxonomy

The genus was erected by Anton Ausserer in 1871, for the species ''

Hexathele hochstetteri ''Hexathele hochstetteri'', commonly known as the banded tunnelweb spider, is a spider in the family Hexathelidae, found only in New Zealand. It is common on the North Island, and uncommon on the South Island. Description The banded tunnelweb ...

''. Mygalomorph spiders were initially very broadly categorized; in 1892,

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, ...

placed ''Hexathele'' in the group Hexatheleae, subfamily Diplurinae, family Aviculariidae. Later the subfamily was raised to the family

Dipluridae The family Dipluridae, known as curtain-web spiders (or confusingly with other distantly related ones as funnel-web tarantulas) are a group of spiders in the infraorder Mygalomorphae, that have two pairs of booklungs, and chelicerae (fangs) tha ...

with Hexathelinae as a subfamily – the classification used by Raymond R. Forster when he described many new species. The subfamily was split off as a full family, Hexathelidae, by Robert J. Raven in 1980.

Species

it contains twenty species, all found in New Zealand: *''

Hexathele cantuaria ''Hexathele'' is a genus of funnel-web spiders endemic to New Zealand that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871, though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was m ...

'' Forster, 1968 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele cavernicola ''Hexathele'' is a genus of funnel-web spiders endemic to New Zealand that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871, though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was m ...

'' Forster, 1968 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele exemplar ''Hexathele'' is a genus of funnel-web spiders endemic to New Zealand that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871, though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was m ...

'' Parrott, 1960 – New Zealand *''

'' Ausserer, 1871 (

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

) – New Zealand *''

Hexathele huka ''Hexathele'' is a genus of funnel-web spiders endemic to New Zealand that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871, though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was m ...

'' Forster, 1968 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele huttoni ''Hexathele'' is a genus of funnel-web spiders endemic to New Zealand that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871, though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was m ...

'' Hogg, 1908 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele kohua ''Hexathele'' is a genus of funnel-web spiders endemic to New Zealand that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871, though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was m ...

'' Forster, 1968 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele maitaia ''Hexathele'' is a genus of Hexathelidae, funnel-web spiders Endemism, endemic to New Zealand that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871, though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster. Originally placed with the Dipluri ...

'' Forster, 1968 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele nigra ''Hexathele'' is a genus of funnel-web spiders endemic to New Zealand that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871, though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was m ...

'' Forster, 1968 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele otira ''Hexathele'' is a genus of funnel-web spiders endemic to New Zealand that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871, though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was m ...

'' Forster, 1968 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele para ''Hexathele'' is a genus of funnel-web spiders endemic to New Zealand that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871, though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was m ...

'' Forster, 1968 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele petriei ''Hexathele'' is a genus of funnel-web spiders endemic to New Zealand that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871, though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was m ...

'' Goyen, 1887 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele pukea ''Hexathele'' is a genus of funnel-web spiders endemic to New Zealand that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871, though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster. Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was m ...

'' Forster, 1968 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele putuna ''Hexathele putuna'' is a species of Mygalomorph spider endemic to New Zealand. Taxonomy This species was described in 1968 by Ray Forster from a single female specimen collected in Wairarapa. The holotype is stored in Te Papa Museum under re ...

'' Forster, 1968 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele ramsayi ''Hexathele ramsayi'' is a species of Mygalomorph spider endemic to New Zealand. Taxonomy This species was described in 1968 by Ray Forster from male and female specimens collected in Otago. The holotype is stored in Otago Museum. Description ...

'' Forster, 1968 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele rupicola ''Hexathele rupicola'' is a species of Mygalomorph spider endemic to New Zealand. Taxonomy This species was described in 1968 by Ray Forster from female specimens collected in Canterbury. The holotype is stored in Canterbury Museum. Descri ...

'' Forster, 1968 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele taumara ''Hexathele'' is a genus of Hexathelidae, funnel-web spiders Endemism, endemic to New Zealand that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871, though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster. Originally placed with the Dipluri ...

'' Forster, 1968 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele waipa ''Hexathele waipa'' is a species of Mygalomorph spider endemic to New Zealand. Taxonomy This species was described in 1968 by Ray Forster from female specimens collected in Otago and Southland. The holotype is stored in Otago Museum. Descri ...

'' Forster, 1968 – New Zealand *''

Hexathele wiltoni ''Hexathele wiltoni'' is a species of Mygalomorph spider endemic to New Zealand. Taxonomy This species was described in 1968 by Ray Forster from female specimens collected in the Wairarapa and Gisbourne regions. The holotype is stored in Ot ...

'' Forster, 1968 – New Zealand

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q98834 Hexathelidae Mygalomorphae genera Spiders of New Zealand