Avicularia

This article is about the spider genus. For the bryozoan zooid form, see avicularium.

Avicularia
Avicularia avicularia female
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Family: Theraphosidae
Genus: Avicularia
Lamarck, 1818[1]
Type species
Aranea avicularia
(Linnaeus, 1758)[1]
Species

See text.

Diversity
12 species
Synonyms[1]

Avicuscodra Strand, 1908
Eurypelma C. L. Koch, 1850

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.[1][2] 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.[3]

Urticating hairs are distinct to new world tarantulas including the Avicularia that are attached to the spider's cuticle via a stalk.[4] These spiny, barbed hairs are used as a defense against potential intruders as well as embedded into silk to protect the egg sac.[5] 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.[2]

  1. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference WSC_g3325 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Ayroza, Gabriela; Candido Ferreira, Ivan Lavander; Sayegh, Raphael Santa Rosa; Tashima, Alexandre K.; Da Silva Junior, Pedro Ismael (2012). "Juruin: an antifungal peptide from the venom of the Amazonian Pink Toe spider, Avicularia juruensis, which contains the inhibitory cystine knot motif". Frontiers in Microbiology. 3: 324. doi:10.3389/fmicb.2012.00324. ISSN 1664-302X. PMC 3437525. PMID 22973266.
  3. ^ "Myth: Less common spider myths". Burke Museum. Retrieved 2021-01-15.
  4. ^ Bertani, Rogério; Guadanucci, José Paulo Leite (Aug 2013). "Morphology, evolution and usage of urticating setae by tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae)". Zoologia (Curitiba). 30 (4): 403–418. doi:10.1590/S1984-46702013000400006. ISSN 1984-4670.
  5. ^ Kaderka, Radan; Bulantová, Jana; Heneberg, Petr; Řezáč, Milan (2019-11-11). "Urticating setae of tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae): Morphology, revision of typology and terminology and implications for taxonomy". PLOS ONE. 14 (11): e0224384. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1424384K. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0224384. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 6844489. PMID 31710616.