''Antillena'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s in the family

Theraphosidae Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although m ...

(tarantulas). , the genus contained a single species, ''Antillena rickwesti'', found in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 2013 by Rogério Bertani and Jeremy Huff, as ''Avicularia rickwesti''. Only the female was known. The specific name recognizes the contributions to the study of the family Theraphosidae by Rick C. West. At the time of description, it was noted that the species was "very distinct" from others in the genus '' Avicularia'', but no alternative generic placement seemed better. A phylogenetic study published in 2017 suggested that the species was sufficiently distinct from ''Avicularia'' to be placed in a separate new genus, ''Antillena''. The generic name refers to the

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

, where the species' only known locality, the Dominican Republic, is located.

References

Theraphosidae Monotypic Theraphosidae genera Spiders of the Caribbean Arthropods of the Dominican Republic {{Theraphosidae-stub