Avicularia

Avicularia
Avicularia avicularia female
Scientific classification
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 tarantulas. The genus is native to tropical South America. Each species in the genus has very distinguishable pink foot pads.

One of the most notable features of the Avicularia species is their odd method of defense. When threatened, their first choice is to jump or run away as quickly as possible – occasionally, though, they will launch a jet of excrement at the perceived threat. Adults are capable of good accuracy and a range of 0.5–1 m (2 to 3 feet).

There is also a belief that they may be the reason behind rumors of "flying spiders" in the rainforests they are native to, as they are quite adept at jumping. Their legs, however, prevent them from gaining much height in making a jump. Avicularia avicularia are among the tarantulas most commonly kept as pets.

Taxonomy

Maria Sibylla Merian's illustration of a spider eating a bird, bottom left corner. Published 1705 after a research expedition in Dutch Surinam

The genus Avicularia was erected in 1818 by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for species previously placed in Mygale Latreille, 1802, the genus name used at the time for most mygalomorph spiders. One of the species Lamarck included in his new genus was Avicularia canceridea, which included Aranea avicularia, first described by Carl Linnaeus 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 in 1928 established the correctness of Avicularia, with the type species being Linnaeus' Aranea avicularia in the combination Avicularia avicularia.^[2]

Linnaeus' name avicularia is derived from the Latin avicula, meaning "little bird", and refers to a 1705 illustration by Maria Sibylla Merian, showing a tarantula feeding on a bird. The English names "bird spider" and "bird-eating spider" and the German name Vogelspinne reflect the Latin name.^[2]

A major review of the genus drastically reduced the number of species recognized, from over 50 to 12, as of March 2017. Some species have been transferred to other genera, with others reduced to synonymy. Yet more names are considered to be doubtful in their application (nomina dubia).^[2][1]

References

External links

• • Tarantulas of the Genus Avicularia
• Phong's Tarantula page