Orthognatha
The mygalomorphs are among the most "primitive" of the spiders, and include the trapdoor spiders (Ctenizidae), funnel web tarantulas (Dipluridae) and tarantulas or bird spiders (Theraphosidae). The name tarantula, which is often used for the theraphosids, comes from the term used by the Italian sailors under Columbus and later explorers for the large wolf spiders found in southern Italy. The theraphosids are not closely related to the wolf spiders (aside from both being spiders) and so the term was a generic one for spiders of large size. The tarantulas are our largest spiders.
ANTRODIAETIDAE (2 Species)
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Aliatypus isolatus Coyle (Folding-door tarantula)
Size: About 10 mm
General Distribution: Mountains of northern and east-central Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Coconino, Pima
Habitat: Forest at high elevations
Adults Collected: March and August
Notes: A typical trap-door building spider
Records: Coyle 1974
Reference: Coyle 1974
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Antrodiaetus apachecus Coyle (Folding-door tarantula)
Size: About 10 mm
General Distribution: Mountains of eastern Arizona and western New Mexico
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Apache, Cochise, Coconino, Graham, Navajo; NM: Sandoval
Habitat: Forest at high elevations
Adults Collected: July-September
Notes: Lives in a silk lined burrow with flexible collar that is collapsed inward
Collar covered with pine needles, twigs, moss, etc.
Records: Coyle 1971, Roth 1996
Reference: Coyle 1971, Roth 1996
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MECICOBOTHRIDAE (2 Species)
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Hexurella apachea Gertsch & Platnick
Size: 3.3 mm
General Distribution: Southeast Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Cochise, Santa Cruz
Habitat: Detritus under oak trees
Adults Collected: March-May
Notes: Tiny mygalomorphs with very long spinnerets
Records: Gertsch & Platnick 1979, Roth 1996
Reference: Gertsch & Platnick 1979, Roth 1996
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Hexurella pinea Gertsch & Platnick
Size: 2.5-3.5 mm
General Distribution: West central Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Yavapai
Habitat: Funnel webs in duff of ponderosa pine
Adults Collected: May
Notes: Tiny mygalomorphs with very long spinnerets
Records: Gertsch & Platnick 1979
Reference: Gertsch & Platnick 1979
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DIPLURIDAE (3 Species)
Euagrus chisoseus Gertsch [= E. ravenus Gertsch & Mulaik, E. apacheus Gertsch & Mulaik, E. ritaensis Chamberlin & Ivie]
Size: ca. 10 mm. as adults
General Distribution: Texas to SE Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Cochise, Pima, Santa Cruz; NM: Eddy, Hidalgo; TX: Brewster, Culberson, Jeff Davis, Terrell
Habitat: Funnel webs under rocks in riparian areas
Adults Collected: March-November
Notes: Medium small mygalomorph with long spinnerets
Records: Beatty 1961, Coyle 1988, Roth 1996, specimens from Eddy and Hidalgo Counties, NM in NMSU collection
Reference: Beatty 1961, Coyle 1988, Roth 1996
Click on image to enlarge
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Euagrus comstocki Gertsch
Size: ca. 10 mm. as adults
General Distribution: Texas
Distribution in Area Covered: TX: Terrell
Habitat: Funnel webs under rocks in riparian areas
Adults Collected:
Notes: Medium small mygalomorph with long spinnerets
Records: Texas A & M University
Reference: Coyle 1988
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Euagrus rothi Coyle
Size: ca. 10 mm as adults
General Distribution: Baboquivari Mts. of Pima Co., Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Pima
Habitat: Probably as in E. chisoeus, funnel webs under rocks in riparian areas
Adults Collected: June to October
Notes: Medium small mygalomorph with long spinnerets
Records: Coyle 1988
Reference: Coyle 1988
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EUCTENIZIDAE (2 Species) (Cyrtaucheniidae)
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Eutychides arizonicus (Gertsch & Wallace) [= Actinoxia a.]
Size: ca.10 mm
General Distribution: Arizona, New Mexico and Texas
Distribution in Area Covered: NM: Lincoln; TX: Brewster
Habitat: Not known
Adults Collected:
Notes:
Records: Gertsch & Riechert 1976, Texas A & M
Reference: Gertsch & Wallace 1936, Gertsch & Riechert 1976, Bond et al. 2012
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Neoapachella rothi Bond & Opell
Size: ca. 10 mm
General Distribution: New Mexico, Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: NM: Cibola
Habitat: Subalpine grassland at 11,300
Adults Collected: July-August
Notes: This appears to be the highest elevation where members of this family have been collected
Records: Bond & Opell 2002, NMSU collection
Reference: Bond & Opell 2002, Bond et al. 2012
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CTENIZIDAE (2 Species)
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Ummidia modesta (Banks)
Size: ca. 10 mm
General Distribution: New Mexico
Distribution in Area Covered: NM
Habitat: Not known
Adults Collected:
Notes:
Records: Not available
Reference: Petrunkevitch 1939
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Ummidia sp.
Size: ca. 10 mm
General Distribution: Southeastern Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Santa Cruz
Habitat: bajada in pinyon-juniper woodland
Adults Collected: Summer
Notes: Found with tube through cow pie
Records: Female from Huachuca Mountains; specimen in FSCA
Reference: None published
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THERAPHOSIDAE (19 Species)
The Theraphosidae contain the spiders most commonly referred to as "tarantulas". These are very large, hairy spiders, commonly seen crossing roads (males) in late summer and autumn. The family is still poorly known, despite the interest shown in them in the exotic pet trade, because they have few good morphological characters to use for taxonomic purposes. Cooke et al. (1972) tried to utilize the urticating hairs (observable as a patch on the dorsal posterior area of the abdomen) for taxonomic work, but they were only of limited use. Smith (1994) published a book on North American tarantulas. Unfortunately this book, while an impressive effort, does not solve the problems and may, in fact, cause a few more because of lack of study of series of specimens or a complete search of the literature. Roth lists four undescribed species (pers. comm.) as occurring in the Chiricahua Mountains, noting that two of them may have been described by Smith (1995), but they cannot be determined based on those descriptions. Fortunately the genus has been revised by Hamilton et al. (2016) with the result that only one of the Smith names escaped synonomy and it was redescribed.
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Aphonopelma armada (Chamberlin)
Size: Male carapace 14.59 mm, female carapace 16.71
General Distribution: Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: TX: Val Verde
Habitat: Desert scrub
Adults Collected: July-September
Notes:
Records: Chamberlin 1940, Smith 1994 (as A. arnoldi), Hamilton, et al. 2016
Reference: Chamberlin 1940, Smith 1994, Hamilton, et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma catalina Hamilton, et al.
Size: Male carapace 12.39 mm, female carapace 14.79 mm
General Distribution: Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Pima
Habitat: Pine-oak woodland.
Adults Collected: December
Notes:
Records: Hamilton et al. 2016
Reference: Hamilton et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma chalcodes Chamberlin
Size: Male 55 mm, female 62 mm
General Distribution: Southern Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Cochise, Coconino, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, Maricopa, Mohave, Navajo, Pima, Yavapai, Yuma: NM: Hidalgo
Habitat: Sonoran Desert
Adults Collected: March-September
Notes: Collected at 2300-4500' in the Santa Catalina Mountains by Beatty (1961)
Records: Chamberlin 1940, Beatty 1961, Smith 1994, Hamilton et al. 2016
Reference: Chamberlin 1940, Beatty 1961, Smith 1994, Hamilton et al. 2016
Click on image to enlarge
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Aphonopelma chiricahua Hamilton et al.
Size: Male carapace 11.42 mm, female carapace 7.65 mm
General Distribution: Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Cochise
Habitat: Chiricahua Mountains
Adults Collected: October-November
Notes:
Records: Hamilton et al. 2016
Reference: Hamilton et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma gabeli Smith
Size: Male 38 mm (carapace 16.79 mm), female carapace 18.34 mm
General Distribution: Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima; NM: Chaves, Dona Ana, Eddy, Sierra; TX: Brewster, El Paso
Habitat: Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts and grasslands
Adults Collected: June-September
Notes:
Records: Smith 1994, Hamilton et al. 2016
Reference: Smith 1994, Hamilton et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma hentzi (Girard) [= Dugesiella hentzi, as well as Dugesiella echina ]
Size: Male 35 mm, female 51 mm
General Distribution: Louisiana N. to Kansas and W. to Arizona, New Mexico and Texas
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Greenlee; NM: Bernalillo, Dona Ana, Eddy, Hidalgo, Luna, Rio Arriba, Sandoval; TX: Brewster, Jeff Davis, Val Verde
Habitat: Various - grasslands, laca beds, river valleys
Adults Collected: June-November
Notes: Record of later maturing male collected as subadult on July 16, 1991, from Valley of Fires St. Pk., identified by Rick West
Smith restricts this species to Oklahoma; West has also identified this as a common Kansas species
Records: Rick West, Hamilton et al. 2016
Reference: Smith 1994, Hamilton et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma iodius (Chamberlin & Ivie)
Size: Male carapace 16.14 mm, female carapace 18.71 mm
General Distribution: California to Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Coconino, Mohave
Habitat: Desert and scrubland
Adults Collected: April-May, July, September-November
Notes:
Records:Hamilton et al. 2016
References: Hamilton et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma madera Hamilton et al.
Size: Male carapace 7.81 mm, female carapace 15.72
General Distribution: Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Cochise, Pima
Habitat: Canyons at elevations up to 2100 m
Adults Collected: July, September, November -December
Notes:
Records: Hamilton et al. 2016
Reference: Hamilton et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma mareki Hamilton et al.
Size: Male carapace 6.40 mm, female carapace 7.74 mm
General Distribution: Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Coconino, Gila, Maricopa, Yavapai
Habitat: Sonoran Desert
Adults Collected: February-April, October-November
Notes:
Records: Hamilton et al. 2016
References: Hamilton et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma marxi (Simon)
Size: Male 20 mm, carapace 9.5 mm, female carapace 15.3 mm
General Distribution: Utah and Colorado S. to California and Texas?
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Apache, Coconino, Gila, Maricopa, Navajo, Yavapai; NM: Catron, Cibola, Los Alamos, McKinley, Rio Arriba, San Juan, Sandoval, Taos
Habitat:
Adults Collected: October
Notes: Smith did not think that the New Mexico record is valid; type apparently lost; description inadequate for determination. However, Hamilton et al. 2016, found numerous New Mexico records.
Records: Smith 1994, Hamilton et al. 2016
Reference: Smith 1994, Hamilton et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma moderatum (Chamberlin & Ivie)
Size: Male carapace 15.55 mm, female carapace 15.6 mm
General Distribution: Texas
Distribution in Area Covered: TX: Val Verde
Habitat: Pinus ponderosa and Quercus gambelii woodland
Adults Collected: January, March-April, June-July, December
Notes:
Records: Chamberlin & Ivie 1939, Hamilton et al. 2016
Reference: Chamberlin & Ivie 1939, Hamilton et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma moellendorfi Hamilton
Size: Male carapace 17.23 mm, female unknown
General Distribution: Texas
Distribution in Area Covered:TX: Presidio, Val Verde
Habitat: Chihuahuan Desert mountains
Adults Collected:
Notes:
Records :Hamilton et al. 2016
References: Hamilton et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma paloma Prentice [= Apachepelma paloma ]
Size: Male 14.5 mm, female 16.2 mm
General Distribution: Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Maricopa, Pima, Pinal
Habitat: Sonoran Desert bajada with creosote, saguaro, ocotillo and palo verde scrub
Adults Collected: November
Notes: This is the smallest known U. S. species in the genus
Records: Prentice 1992, Smith 1994, Hamilton et al. 2016
Reference: Prentice 1992, Smith 1994, Hamilton et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma parvum Hamilton et al.
Size: Male carapace 6.54 mm, female carapace 7.15 mm
General Distribution: Arizona and New Mexico
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Cochise, Graham, Greenlee; NM: Hidalgo
Habitat: Chihuahuan Desert
Adults Collected: November-December
Notes:
Records: Hamilton et al. 2016
Reference: Hamilton et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma peloncillo Hamilton et al. .
Size: Male carapace 12.27 mm, female carapace 19.32 mm. General Distribution: SW New Mexico and SE Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Cochise; NM: Hidalgo
Habitat: Riparian woodland
Adults Collected:
Notes: Collected at over 5000' in Peloncillo Mountains
Records: NMSU Arthropod Museum, Hamilton et al. 2016
Reference: Hamilton et al. 2016
Click on image to enlarge
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Aphonopelma phasmus (Chamberlin)
Size: Male 24 mm, carapace 7.89 mm, female unknown
General Distribution: Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Coconino
Habitat: Pristine range in Grand Canyon National Park
Adults Collected: July-August
Notes:
Records: Chamberlin 1940, Smith 1994, Hamilton et al. 2016
References: Chamberlin 1940, Smith 1994, Hamilton et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma prenticei Hamilton et al.
Size: Male carapace 7.18 mm, female carapace 7.85 mm
General Distribution: California, western Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: La Paz, Maricopa, Mohave, Yuma
Habitat: Pinyon-juniper woodland and grassland
Adults Collected: October-November
Notes:
Records: Hamilton et al. 2016
Reference: Hamilton et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma saguaro   Hamilton
Size: Male carapace 6.17 mm, female carapace 6.86 mm
General Distribution: Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Pima
Habitat: Sonoran and Madrean canyons and foothills
Adults Collected: December
Notes:
Records: Hamilton et al. 2016
References: Hamilton et al. 2016
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Aphonopelma superstitionense Hamilton et al.
Size: Male carapace 5.60 mm, female carapace 6.97 mm
General Distribution: Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Maricopa, Pinal
Habitat: Superstition Mountains
Adults Collected: November-December
Notes:
Records: Hamilton et al. 2016
Reference: Hamilton et al. 2016
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| Aphonopelma vorhiesi (Chamberlin & Ivie)
Size: Male 28 mm, carapace 13.61 mm, female carapace 16.38 mm
General Distribution: Arizona
Distribution in Area Covered: AZ: Cochise, Graham, Pima, Santa Cruz; NM: Hidalgo
Habitat: Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, basin and range
Adults Collected:July-September, November
Notes: Collected at 3500-7600' in Santa Catalina Mountains by Beatty (1961)
Records: Beatty 1961, Smith 1994, Hamilton et al. 2016
Reference: Beatty 1961, Smith 1994, Hamilton et al. 2016
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