- Aphonopelma
Taxobox
name = "Aphonopelma"
image_caption = Male "Aphonopelma" sp., likely "A. iodius"
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Arthropod a
classis =Arachnid a
ordo = Araneae
subordo =Mygalomorphae
familia = "Theraphosidae "
subfamilia =Theraphosinae
genus = "Aphonopelma"
genus_authority = Pocock, 1901
diversity_link = List of Theraphosidae species#Aphonopelma
diversity = 90 species
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision ="A. anax"
"A. bicoloratum"
"A. caniceps"
"A. chaoana"
"A. chalcodes"
"A. clarum"
"A. crinirufum"
"A. hentzi"
"A. iodius"
"A. moderatum"
"A. pallidum"
"A. seemanni"
"others""Aphonopelma" is a
genus oftarantula s including nearly all of theNorth America n tarantulas north ofMexico and a considerable part of the tarantulas which range intoCentral America . Only a fewspecies are described fromSouth America . About 90 species have been described, but many, if not most, of these are inadequately studied and very little is known about them. Most are large and, like otherNew World tarantulas, they haveurticating hair s. Most are docile in captivity. Thetaxonomy is poorly understood and species are difficult to tell apart, especially those that are brown or black without other pattern.In captivity they will eat crickets, in the wild they will eat most smaller insects.
The type species is "
Aphonopelma seemanni " or Zebra tarantula (F. O. P.-Cambridge, 1897), which has striped legs. This species produces silk fromspinneret s on the feet as well as in the abdomen. [cite journal | first = SN | last = Gorb | coauthors = Niederegger S, Hayashi CY, Summers AP, Votsch W, Walther P | year = 2006 | month = Sep 28 | title = Biomaterials: silk-like secretion from tarantula feet | journal = Nature | volume = 443 | issue = 7110 | pages = 407 | pmid = 17006505 | accessdate = | doi = 10.1038/443407a]References
External links
* [http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog81-87/index.html Platnick, N.I. 2003. World Spider Catalog]
* Photos of 15 [http://www.spidy.goliathus.com/english/tarantula.php?species=Aphonopelma Aphonopelma] species in [http://www.spidy.goliathus.com/english/gallery-tarantulas.php tarantulas] gallery.
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