''Euphrictus'' is a genus of

tarantula 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 ...

(family Theraphosidae) which is found in Africa. It is part of the subfamily Selenogyrinae.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Euphrictus'' was erected by A.S. Hirst in 1908 for the species '' Euphrictus spinosus'', described on the basis of a single male from

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

. ''Euphrictus'' has a rastellum on the chelicerae, which is rare in tarantulas, as it is quite primitive, and could point to the conclusion that all tarantulas may once have had this feature, but this was lost in more advanced groups. A lack of genera prevents this from being proven.

Description

''Euphrictus'' is characterized by the

stridulating Stridulation is the act of producing sound by rubbing together certain body parts. This behavior is mostly associated with insects, but other animals are known to do this as well, such as a number of species of fish, snakes and spiders. The mech ...

organ between the

chelicera The chelicerae () are the mouthparts of the subphylum Chelicerata, an arthropod group that includes arachnids, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. Commonly referred to as "jaws", chelicerae may be shaped as either articulated fangs, or similarly ...

e. This consists of stout, peg-like

seta In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...

e and thick thorn-like spines. There is also rastellum on the chelicerae.

Species

, the

World Spider Catalog The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...

accepted the following species: *'' Euphrictus spinosus'' (type species) Hirst, 1908 – Cameroon *''

Euphrictus squamosus ''Euphrictus squamosus'' is a tarantula (family Theraphosidae) in the Selenogyrinae subfamily. It is native to the Congo. Taxonomy The species was first described by Pierre Benoit in 1965 as the type species, ''Zophopelma squamosa'', of a ne ...

'' (Benoit, 1965) – Congo

References

Spiders of Africa Theraphosidae genera Theraphosidae {{Theraphosidae-stub