''Phoneyusa'' is a genus of spiders belonging to the family

Theraphosidae Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,100 species have been identified, with 166 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

(tarantulas).

Taxonomy

The genus was erected by

Ferdinand Karsch Ferdinand Anton Franz Karsch (2 September 1853, in Münster – 20 December 1936, in Berlin) was a German arachnologist, entomologist and anthropologist. He also wrote on human and animal sexual diversity with his mother's maiden name included a ...

in 1884, based on a spider from central Africa he regarded as in some ways similar to the South American genera ''

Avicularia ''Avicularia'' is a genus of the Family (biology), family Theraphosidae containing various species of arboreal tarantulas. The genus is native to Panama, the Caribbean, and tropical South America. Each species in the genus has very distinguishab ...

'' and ''Eurypelma'' (now included in ''Avicularia''), but nevertheless distinct. Karsch explained the name as meaning "murderess". (''Phoneyusa'' is one transcription of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, derived from the verb , 'murder'.)

Distribution

The species of this genus are found in sub-Saharan Africa.

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: *'' Phoneyusa antilope'' (Simon, 1889) – Congo *'' Phoneyusa belandana'' Karsch, 1884 (

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

) – Central African Rep. *'' Phoneyusa bidentata'' Pocock, 1899 – West, Central Africa *'' Phoneyusa bouvieri'' Berland, 1917 – Madagascar *''

Phoneyusa buettneri ''Phoneyusa'' is a genus of spiders belonging to the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas). Taxonomy The genus was erected by Ferdinand Karsch in 1884, based on a spider from central Africa he regarded as in some ways similar to the South American ...

'' Karsch, 1886 – Gabon *'' Phoneyusa chevalieri'' Simon, 1906 – West Africa *''

Phoneyusa cultridens ''Phoneyusa'' is a genus of spiders belonging to the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas). Taxonomy The genus was erected by Ferdinand Karsch in 1884, based on a spider from central Africa he regarded as in some ways similar to the South American ...

'' Berland, 1917 – Congo *'' Phoneyusa gabonica'' (Simon, 1889) – Gabon *'' Phoneyusa giltayi'' Laurent, 1946 – Congo *'' Phoneyusa gracilipes'' (Simon, 1889) – Congo *'' Phoneyusa lesserti'' Dresco, 1973 – Central African Rep. *'' Phoneyusa manicata'' Simon, 1907 – Príncipe *'' Phoneyusa minima'' (Strand, 1907) – Cameroon *'' Phoneyusa principium'' Simon, 1907 – Príncipe *'' Phoneyusa rutilata'' (Simon, 1907) – Guinea-Bissau *''

Phoneyusa westi ''Phoneyusa'' is a genus of spiders belonging to the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas). Taxonomy The genus was erected by Ferdinand Karsch in 1884, based on a spider from central Africa he regarded as in some ways similar to the South American ...

'' Smith, 1990 – Angola

References

Theraphosidae Theraphosidae genera Spiders of Africa Taxa named by Ferdinand Karsch {{Theraphosidae-stub