Poecilotheria is a genus of tarantulas native to India and Sri Lanka. It was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1885. They are arboreal tarantulas, commonly known as ornamental tarantulas, known for their vivid color patterns, fast movement, and potent venom compared to other tarantulas. all species are protected under CITES.
The genus name is a combination of the Ancient Greek "poikilos" (), meaning "spotted", and therion" (), meaning "wild beast".
Taxonomy
The species belonging to Poecilotheria were first documented in 1734 by Dutch zoologist Albertus Seba, when he went to Sri Lanka. He published the new spiders he saw in his illustrations of the book Albertus Seba's Thesaurus under the name of Aranea maxima ceilonica (meaning big spider from Sri Lanka). However, the most precise scientific explanation came in 1804 when Pierre André Latreille described the spider as Mygale fasciata.
After about 40 years delay, in 1850, C.L. Koch revised the generic name Mygale in to Scurria and species as Scurria fasciata. In 1885, Eugène Simon proposed the generic name Poecilotheria instead of Scurria due to species description errors with a mollusk.
There is a debate about the taxonomy of a few species. Some sources identify Poecilotheria vittata of Sri Lanka as a synonym of Poecilotheria striata of India, but in other sources both of them have been given valid species identity. The naming of Poecilotheria bara from Sri Lanka is also in debate – whether it is the same species as Poecilotheria subfusca, found in south central parts of Sri Lanka. In 2014, Ranil P. Nanayakkara, a Sri Lanka arachnologist, regarded P. vittata, P. striata, P. bara, and P. subfusca as distinct species.
Species
, the World Spider Catalog accepted the following species, seven from India, seven from Sri Lanka and two from both countries.
India
Poecilotheria formosa Pocock, 1899 — Salem ornamental
Poecilotheria metallica Pocock, 1899 — Gooty sapphire ornamental
Poecilotheria miranda Pocock, 1900 — Bengal spotted ornamental
Poecilotheria regalis Pocock, 1899 — Indian Ornamental
Poecilotheria rufilata Pocock, 1899 — red slate ornamental
Poecilotheria striata Pocock, 1895 — Mysore ornamental, Pedersen's ghost ornamental Poecilotheria tigrinawesseli Smith, 2006 — Wessel's tiger ornamental
Sri Lanka
Poecilotheria fasciata (Latreille, 1804) (type species) — Sri Lankan ornamental
Poecilotheria ornata Pocock, 1899 — fringed ornamental
Poecilotheria rajaei Nanayakkara, et al., 2012 — Mankulam pink banded ornamental
Poecilotheria smithi Kirk, 1996 — yellow backed ornamental
Poecilotheria subfusca Pocock, 1895 — ivory ornamental
Poecilotheria srilankensis Nanayakkara, et al., 2020
Both countries
Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica Smith, 2004 — Rameshwaram ornamental
Poecilotheria vittata Pocock, 1895 — Magam ornamental
Junior synonyms
The following species were once considered to be species, but are now considered synonyms of other species by the World Spider Catalog, : Poecilotheria amarasekarai = P. rajaei; regarded as distinct by other sources Poecilotheria bara Chamberlin, 1917 = P. subfusca; regarded as distinct by other sources Poecilotheria gadgili Tikader, 1977 = P. regalis Poecilotheria nallamalaiensis Rao et al., 2006 = P. formosa Poecilotheria pederseni Kirk, 2001 = P. vittata Poecilotheria pococki Charpentier, 1996 = P. smithi Poecilotheria uniformis Strand, 1913 = P. subfusca
Biology
Species of Poecilotheria are easily distinguishable from other species of family Theraphosidae due to the flattened carapace, maxilla with spines, and black teeth like tubercles. Their legs lack spines and the scopula of the legs are clearly seen. There are unique color patterns on the ventral surface, especially on the legs. The dorsal surface of the abdomen has several variegated stripes and spots of black and white. The first and fourth pair of legs are colored with striking yellow and black patterns, a feature used especially to identify up to species level.