''Hemirrhagus'' 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 ...

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

tarantulas 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 ...

that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. It is considered a senior synonym of ''Spelopelma''. Species of the genus ''Hemirrhagus'' are 5 to 12 cm long, usually black in colour, the

urticating hair Urticating hairs or urticating bristles are one of the primary defense mechanisms used by numerous plants, almost all New World tarantulas, and various lepidopteran caterpillars. ''Urtica'' is Latin for "nettle" (stinging nettles are in the genu ...

s on the

opisthosoma The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma (cephalothorax). It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata (arachnids, horseshoe crabs and others). Although it is similar in most respects to ...

are arranged in one dorsomedian patch, two dorsal paramedian patches, or two lateral patches. It is unique amongst the theraphosine genera because of the retrolateral

coxal In vertebrate anatomy, hip (or "coxa"Latin ''coxa'' was used by Celsus in the sense "hip", but by Pliny the Elder in the sense "hip bone" (Diab, p 77) in medical terminology) refers to either an anatomical region or a joint. The hip region i ...

heels, the shape of the male palpal bulb, and the urticating hairs on the abdomen are reduced or completely missing. It is the only genus with epigean,

troglophile Troglofauna are small cave-dwelling animals that have adapted to their dark surroundings. Troglofauna and stygofauna are the two types of subterranean fauna (based on life-history). Both are associated with subterranean environments – troglofaun ...

and

troglobitic A troglobite (or, formally, troglobiont) is an animal species, or population of a species, strictly bound to underground habitats, such as caves. These are separate from species that mainly live in above-ground habitats but are also able to live u ...

species.

Distribution

Hemirrhagus

are all found in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

all of them are largely distributed from

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

in the north to

Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil and Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 124 municipalities ...

in the south, primarily in the mountainous regions of

Sierra Madre Oriental The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that f ...

, Eje Volcánico Transversal,

Sierra Norte de Oaxaca La Sierra Norte de Oaxaca is a heavily wooded region in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. It is 62 km from the city of Oaxaca on Federal highway 175, heading east towards Tuxtepec. The region is divided into three districts: Ixtlán, which ha ...

, and Sierra Madre Sur. All of this

are found in individual

caves A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

, some

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

living in the same

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

. The species are found in cave systems between 100m to 1900m

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance ( height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as '' orthometric heights''. Th ...

. Most of them are found in central Mexico and the northern part of south Mexico. HemirrhagusDistributionMap

Species

* it contains twenty-seven species, all found in

: * ''

Hemirrhagus akheronteus ''Hemirrhagus akheronteus'' is a tarantula which is part of the '' Hemirrhagus'' genus. It is found in Mexico, in the state of Queretaro, and is one of many Mexican cave tarantulas. It was first described by Mendoza and Francke in 2018. It is na ...

'' Mendoza & Francke, 2018 –

* ''

Hemirrhagus benzaa ''Hemirrhagus'' is a genus of Mexican tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. It is considered a senior synonym of ''Spelopelma''. Species of the genus ''Hemirrhagus'' are 5 to 12 cm long, usually black in colour, the ...

'' Mendoza, 2014 – Mexico * ''

Hemirrhagus billsteelei ''Hemirrhagus billsteelei'' is a tarantula in the '' Hemirrhagus'' genus of Mexican cave tarantulas. This tarantula is found in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. This tarantula was first described by Mendoza and Francke in 2018, and is named in hono ...

'' Mendoza & Francke, 2018 – Mexico * '' Hemirrhagus cervinus'' (Simon, 1891) ( type) – Mexico * ''

Hemirrhagus chilango ''Hemirrhagus'' is a genus of Mexican tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. It is considered a senior synonym of ''Spelopelma''. Species of the genus ''Hemirrhagus'' are 5 to 12 cm long, usually black in colour, the ...

'' Pérez-Miles & Locht, 2003 – Mexico * ''

Hemirrhagus coztic ''Hemirrhagus'' is a genus of Mexican tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. It is considered a senior synonym of ''Spelopelma''. Species of the genus ''Hemirrhagus'' are 5 to 12 cm long, usually black in colour, the ...

'' Pérez-Miles & Locht, 2003 – Mexico * ''

Hemirrhagus diablo ''Hemirrhagus diablo'' is a tarantula in the '' Hemirrhagus'' genus, it is found in Mexico, in several caves in the state of Morelos. It is named after a cave it is found in, "Cueva del diablo" which translated to "Devil's cave", diablo being dev ...

'' Mendoza & Francke, 2018 – Mexico * '' Hemirrhagus elliotti'' ( Gertsch, 1973) – Mexico * '' Hemirrhagus embolulatus'' Mendoza, 2014 – Mexico * '' Hemirrhagus eros'' Pérez-Miles & Locht, 2003 – Mexico * ''

Hemirrhagus franckei ''Hemirrhagus'' is a genus of Mexican tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. It is considered a senior synonym of ''Spelopelma''. Species of the genus ''Hemirrhagus'' are 5 to 12 cm long, usually black in colour, the ...

'' Mendoza, 2014 – Mexico * '' Hemirrhagus gertschi'' Pérez-Miles & Locht, 2003 – Mexico * '' Hemirrhagus grieta'' (Gertsch, 1982) – Mexico * ''

Hemirrhagus guichi ''Hemirrhagus'' is a genus of Mexican tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. It is considered a senior synonym of ''Spelopelma''. Species of the genus ''Hemirrhagus'' are 5 to 12 cm long, usually black in colour, the ...

'' Mendoza, 2014 – Mexico * '' Hemirrhagus kalebi'' Mendoza & Francke, 2018 – Mexico * ''

Hemirrhagus lochti ''Hemirrhagus'' is a genus of Mexican tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. It is considered a senior synonym of ''Spelopelma''. Species of the genus ''Hemirrhagus'' are 5 to 12 cm long, usually black in colour, the ...

'' Estrada-Alvarez, 2014 – Mexico * '' Hemirrhagus mitchelli'' (Gertsch, 1982) – Mexico * ''

Hemirrhagus nahuanus ''Hemirrhagus'' is a genus of Mexican tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. It is considered a senior synonym of ''Spelopelma''. Species of the genus ''Hemirrhagus'' are 5 to 12 cm long, usually black in colour, the ...

'' (Gertsch, 1982) – Mexico * '' Hemirrhagus ocellatus'' Pérez-Miles & Locht, 2003 – Mexico * ''

Hemirrhagus papalotl ''Hemirrhagus'' is a genus of Mexican tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. It is considered a senior synonym of ''Spelopelma''. Species of the genus ''Hemirrhagus'' are 5 to 12 cm long, usually black in colour, the ...

'' Pérez-Miles & Locht, 2003 – Mexico * ''

Hemirrhagus perezmilesi ''Hemirrhagus'' is a genus of Mexican tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. It is considered a senior synonym of ''Spelopelma''. Species of the genus ''Hemirrhagus'' are 5 to 12 cm long, usually black in colour, the ...

'' García-Villafuerte & Locht, 2010 – Mexico * ''

Hemirrhagus pernix ''Hemirrhagus'' is a genus of Mexican tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. It is considered a senior synonym of ''Spelopelma''. Species of the genus ''Hemirrhagus'' are 5 to 12 cm long, usually black in colour, the ...

'' ( Ausserer, 1875) – Mexico * ''

Hemirrhagus puebla ''Hemirrhagus'' is a genus of Mexican tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. It is considered a senior synonym of ''Spelopelma''. Species of the genus ''Hemirrhagus'' are 5 to 12 cm long, usually black in colour, the ...

'' (Gertsch, 1982) – Mexico * ''

Hemirrhagus reddelli ''Hemirrhagus'' is a genus of Mexican tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. It is considered a senior synonym of ''Spelopelma''. Species of the genus ''Hemirrhagus'' are 5 to 12 cm long, usually black in colour, the ...

'' (Gertsch, 1973) – Mexico * '' Hemirrhagus sprousei'' Mendoza & Francke, 2018 – Mexico * ''

Hemirrhagus stygius ''Hemirrhagus'' is a genus of Mexican tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1903. It is considered a senior synonym of ''Spelopelma''. Species of the genus ''Hemirrhagus'' are 5 to 12 cm long, usually black in colour, the ...

'' (Gertsch, 1971) – Mexico * '' Hemirrhagus valdezi'' Mendoza, 2014 – Mexico

References

Theraphosidae genera Endemic spiders of Mexico Theraphosidae {{Theraphosidae-stub

Distribution

Species

See also

References