Harpactirinae is a subfamily of baboon spiders, old-world tarantulas which are native to the continent of Africa. Like many old-world tarantulas, they have a strong venom, and can inflict a painful bite; however most baboon spiders are not considered dangerous to man. One species, Harpacterilla lightfooti, is considered by many to have a medically significant bite, but this has not been confirmed scientifically. Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Diversity 113 genera, 897 species Genera Subfamily Acanthopelminae    Acanthopelma Subfamily Aviculariinae    Avicularia    Ephobopus    Pachistopelma    Tapinauchenius Subfamily Eumenophorinae    Anoploscelus    Batesiella    Citharischius    Encyocrates    Eumenophorus    Hysterocrates    Loxomphalia    Loxoptygus    Monocentropus    Myostola    Phoneyusa    Polyspina Subfamily Harpactirinae    Ceratogyrus    Coelogenium    Eucratoscelus    Harpactira    Pterinochilus Subfamily Ischnocolinae    Chaetopelma    Cratorrhagus    Heterothele    Ischnocolus    Nesiergus    Plesiophrictus/Neoplesiophrictus Subfamily Ornithoctoninae    Citharognathus    Cyriopagopus    Haplopelma... For other uses, see Africa (disambiguation). ... Chelicerae of a black wishbone (Nemesiidae) spider, a mygalomorph Spiders are widely known, and feared by some, for their capability of biting human beings. ...

Description

Like many tarantulas, Harpactirinae are large, hairy spiders. The size of their bodies ranges from 13mm (1/2") to 90mm (3 1/2"). Colors include various shades of black, grey, brown, and yellow. These spiders have thich black scorpulae pads at the end of their legs, which are said to resemble the feet of baboons. They generally feature medium to small theraphosids with various dorsal abdominal patterns of coloration, Diversity 111 families, 40,000 species Suborders Mesothelae Mygalomorphae Araneomorphae  See Table of Families Wikispecies has information related to: Spiders A South-American Argiope Spiders are predatory invertebrate animals with two body segments, eight legs, no chewing mouth parts and no wings. ... Type Species Simia hamadryas Linnaeus, 1758 Species Papio hamadryas Papio papio Papio anubis Papio cynocephalus Papio ursinus The baboons are some of the largest non-hominid members of the primate order; only the Mandrill and the Drill are larger. ...

Harpactirinae are ground-dwelling spiders who build silk-lined burrows, often under debris such as stones, using their fangs and chelicerae for digging. Habitats include savanna woodlands, grasslands, and dry scrublands. The chelicerae of spiders are the mouth parts from which the fangs extend. ... A savanna or savannah is a grassland with widely spaced trees, and occurs in several types of biomes. ...

Systematics

The following genera and species are present in Harpactirinae. In addition, the genus Brachionopus (Pocock, 1897) has been suggested for placement in this sub-family, but its taxonomy is currently disputed.

Augacephalus

Augacephalus Gallon, 2002

• Augacephalus breyeri (Hewitt, 1919) (South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland)
• Augacephalus junodi (Simon, 1904) (East, South Africa)

Ceratogyrus

Ceratogyrus Pocock, 1897 Diversity 11 species Species See text. ...

• Ceratogyrus bechuanicus Purcell, 1902 (Southern Africa)
• Ceratogyrus brachycephalus Hewitt, 1919 (Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa)
• Ceratogyrus darlingi Pocock, 1897 (Zimbabwe, Mozambique)
• Ceratogyrus dolichocephalus Hewitt, 1919 (Zimbabwe)
• Ceratogyrus ezendami Gallon, 2001 (Mozambique)
• Ceratogyrus hillyardi (Smith, 1990) (Malawi)
• Ceratogyrus marshalli Pocock, 1897 (Zimbabwe, Mozambique)
• Ceratogyrus meridionalis (Hirst, 1907) (Malawi, Mozambique)
• Ceratogyrus paulseni Gallon, 2005 (South Africa)
• Ceratogyrus pillansi (Purcell, 1902) (Zimbabwe, Mozambique)
• Ceratogyrus sanderi Strand, 1906 (Namibia, Zimbabwe)

Eucratoscelus

Eucratoscelus Pocock, 1898

• Eucratoscelus constrictus (Gerstäcker, 1873) (Kenya, Tanzania)
• Eucratoscelus pachypus Schmidt & von Wirth, 1990 (Tanzania)

Harpactira

Harpactira Ausserer, 1871

• Harpactira atra (Latreille, 1832) (South Africa)
• Harpactira baviana Purcell, 1903 (South Africa)
• Harpactira cafreriana (Walckenaer, 1837) (South Africa)
• Harpactira chrysogaster Pocock, 1897 (South Africa)
• Harpactira curator Pocock, 1898 (South Africa)
• Harpactira curvipes Pocock, 1897 (South Africa)
• Harpactira dictator Purcell, 1902 (South Africa)
• Harpactira gigas Pocock, 1898 (South Africa)
• Harpactira guttata Strand, 1907 (South Africa)
• Harpactira hamiltoni Pocock, 1902 (South Africa)
• Harpactira lineata Pocock, 1897 (South Africa)
• Harpactira lyrata (Simon, 1892) (South Africa)
• Harpactira marksi Purcell, 1902 (South Africa)
• Harpactira namaquensis Purcell, 1902 (Namibia, South Africa)
• Harpactira pulchripes Pocock, 1901 (South Africa)
• Harpactira tigrina Ausserer, 1875 (South Africa)

Harpactirella

Harpactirella Purcell, 1902

• Harpactirella domicola Purcell, 1903 (South Africa)
• Harpactirella flavipilosa Lawrence, 1936 (South Africa)
• Harpactirella helenae Purcell, 1903 (South Africa)
• Harpactirella insidiosa (Denis, 1960) (Morocco)
• Harpactirella karrooica Purcell, 1902 (South Africa)
• Harpactirella lapidaria Purcell, 1908 (South Africa)
• Harpactirella lightfooti Purcell, 1902 (South Africa)
• Harpactirella longipes Purcell, 1902 (South Africa)
• Harpactirella magna Purcell, 1903 (South Africa)
• Harpactirella schwarzi Purcell, 1904 (South Africa)
• Harpactirella spinosa Purcell, 1908 (South Africa)
• Harpactirella treleaveni Purcell, 1902 (South Africa)

Idiothele

Idiothele Hewitt, 1919

• Idiothele nigrofulva (Pocock, 1898) (Southern Africa)

Pterinochilus

Pterinochilus Pocock, 1897 Diversity 7 species Species see article Pterinochilus is a genus of baboon spiders, first described in 1897 by Pocock. ...

• Pterinochilus alluaudi Berland, 1914 (Kenya)
• Pterinochilus chordatus (Gerstäcker, 1873) (East Africa)
• Pterinochilus leetzi Schmidt, 2002 (Zambia)
• Pterinochilus lugardi Pocock, 1900 (Southern, East Africa)
• Pterinochilus murinus Pocock, 1897 (Angola, Central, East, Southern Africa)
• Pterinochilus simoni Berland, 1917 (Angola, Congo)
• Pterinochilus vorax Pocock, 1897 (Angola, Central, East Africa)

Trichognathella

Trichognathella Gallon, 2004

• Trichognathella schoenlandi (Pocock, 1900) (South Africa)

External links

• Norman I. Platnick: The World Spider Catalog, American Museum of Natural History.
• Museums of Cape Town: Baboon spiders
• Science in Africa: The Baboon spiders of South Africa
• www.baboonspiders.de Baboon spiders Systematic Taxonomy
• www.baboonspiders.de Key of the genera of the subfamily Harpactirinae