Funnel-web tarantulas (family Dipluridae) resemble other mygalomorphs in having downward stabbing fangs and two pairs of booklungs.
They are characterized by not having a rastellum (closely spaced parallel ridges) on each of their chelicerae. Their carapace is characterized by the head region not being higher than the thoracic region. They have a thoracic groove that is a circular pit. Their anterior spinnerets (silk-extruding organs) are very much shorter than their posterior spinnerets, which have three segments of about equal length.
Members of this family often build rather messy funnel-webs and have very long spinnerets. Some build silk-lined burrows instead of webs. Most of the species are medium to small sized spiders. The highly venomous genus Atrax used to be placed in this family, but is now in the Hexathelidae. The common genus in the United States is Euagrus, which builds its webs under stones in wet canyons. It is fairly abundant in such areas as the Chiracahua Mountains of Arizona.
Diplurids can be very common in banks and road cuts in the tropics, such as in Trinidad. It is not know how venomous these species are, but it is probably wise to avoid direct contact with the larger spiders in this family.
When people who knew about the tarantulas emigrated to the Americas and discovered fearsomely large and hairy spiders in the New World, they bestowed the name "tarantula" on them.
Those spiders belong to the Suborder Mygalomorphae, the Family Theraphosidae and the Family Dipluridae.
The body of the Rose Tarantula from Chile (Grammastola spatulatus) pictured below is approximately 2.5 inches (6.2 cm.) long.
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