| Palystes | |
|---|---|
| |
| Female Palystes castaneus near Somerset West, South Africa | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Araneomorphae |
| Family: | Sparassidae |
| Genus: | Palystes L. Koch, 1875 |
| Type species | |
| Palystes castaneus Latreille, 1819
| |
| Species | |
|
See text | |
| Diversity[1] | |
| 20 species | |
Palystes is a genus of huntsman spiders, commonly called rain spiders or lizard-eating spiders,[2] occurring in Africa, India, Australia, and the Pacific.[1] The most common and widespread species is P. superciliosus, found in South Africa, home to 12 species in the genus.[1][2] The name Palystes is derived from either the Latin palaestes or the Greek palaistes, meaning "wrestler".[2] The genus was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1875.[1]
- ^ a b c d Platnick, Norman I. (10 December 2011). "Fam. Sparassidae". The World Spider Catalog, Version 12.5. New York, NY, USA: American Museum of Natural History. doi:10.5531/db.iz.0001. Retrieved 19 April 2012.
- ^ a b c Larsen, Norman. "Palystes (rain spiders, lizard-eating spiders)". Biodiversity Explorer. Cape Town, South Africa: Iziko museums. Retrieved 19 April 2012.