Old World Tarantulas

Hailing from the diverse landscapes of Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia, Old World tarantulas are a captivating group of arachnids, distinct from their New World counterparts in several key ways:

  • Sleek and Stylish: Often less hirsute than their New World cousins, Old World tarantulas boast a sleek, streamlined appearance. Their color palette is equally striking, ranging from earthy browns to vibrant greens and purples.

  • Speed Demons: Renowned for their agility and swiftness, these spiders are masters of evasion. While they may retreat when threatened, they can also exhibit defensive postures.

  • Venomous Bite: While not typically life-threatening to humans, their venom can deliver a painful bite.

  • Lack of Urticating Hairs: Unlike many New World species, Old World tarantulas lack urticating hairs, those tiny, irritating hairs used for defense.

A Few Notable Examples:

  • Baboon Spiders (Harpactirella spp.): Large, swift, and known for their aggressive nature.

  • Tree Baboons (Pterinochilus spp.): Vibrantly colored arboreal dwellers, making their homes in trees.

  • Earth Tiger Spiders (Cyriopagopus spp.): Powerful burrowers with potent venom.

A Word of Caution:

If you're considering keeping a tarantula as a pet, thorough research is essential. Old World tarantulas can be more challenging to handle due to their speed and defensive nature.

Okay, here's a list of Old World tarantula genera (and some notable species), organized alphabetically by Latin name, with common names where readily available. Keep in mind, as with New World tarantulas, taxonomy changes, so this is a snapshot in time:

A

  • Acanthoscurrioides

  • Ancylometes

  • Annandaliella

  • Atypus

B

  • Birgus

  • Bokobza

C

  • Calisoma

  • Ceratogyrus (Horned Baboon)

  • Chaetopelma

  • Chilobrachys

  • Coremiocnemis

  • Cyriopagopus

  • Cyrtauchenius

D

  • Dicranopalpus

E

  • Encyocratella

  • Eucratosia

F

  • Fageicera

  • Formicopus

G

  • Geolycosa

H

  • Hadronyche (Sydney Funnel-web Spider - technically not a tarantula, but often grouped with them in hobbyist circles due to their similar appearance and care)

  • Haplopelma (Earth Tigers)

  • Haploプス

I

  • Idioctis

  • Ischnocolus

J

  • Jathri

K

  • Kiama

L

  • Lampropelma (Singapore Blue, Cobalt Blue)

  • Lasiodora

  • Lasiodorides

M

  • Macrothele

  • Mastigoproctus (Vinegaroon - not a true spider, but an arachnid often kept alongside tarantulas)

  • Melanotarsia

  • Microhexura

N

  • Nemesia

  • Neodiplothele

O

  • Ornithoctonus

  • Oxyopes

P

  • Pachypelma

  • Palystes (Rain Spider)

  • Phormingochilus (Note: Some consider this genus to be in the New World)

  • Phrixotrichus

  • Plesiophrictus

  • Poecilotheria (Ornamental Tarantulas)

  • Psalmopoeus

R

  • Ravenna

S

  • Sason

  • Schismatothele

  • Scodra

  • Selenocosmia

  • Selenopelma

  • Sericopelma

  • Stromatopelma

T

  • Tapinauchenius (Note: While some consider this genus to be from the New World, others place it in the Old World)

  • Theraphosa

  • Thrigmochaeta

  • Tigellinus

U

  • Umbytelus

V

  • Viridasius

Z

  • Zophopelma