Kingdom Animalia Class Arachnida Family Hexathelidae Rank Genus | Subphylum Chelicerata Infraorder Mygalomorphae Phylum Arthropoda Order Spider | |
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Similar Hexathele hochstetteri, Porrhothele, Hadronyche, Porrhothele antipodiana, Macrothele | ||
Hexathele is a genus of mygalomorph spider in the family Hexathelidae, found only in New Zealand. Most of the species were first described by Raymond R. Forster.
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Description
Most species of Hexathele are relatively large spiders. Females of Hexathele waita, one of the largest species, may have a carapace 13 mm (0.5 in) long and an abdomen 15 mm (0.6 in) long, with the longest leg (the fourth) being 38 mm (1.5 in) long in total. Hexethele species are generally brown to black in colour. Many species have a chevron pattern on the upper surface of the abdomen, the pattern being characteristic of the species. The carapace of the cephalothorax has a more or less straight depression (fovea) in the centre. The eyes are arranged in a compact group. The male palp lacks tibial apophyses (projections), but the male's first pair of legs have double spines on the tibia. There are six spinnerets, with the posterior pair being three-segmented and relatively long.
Taxonomy
The genus was erected by Anton Ausserer in 1871, for the species Hexathele hochstetteri. Mygalomorph spiders were initially very broadly categorized; in 1892, Eugène Simon placed Hexathele in the group Hexatheleae, subfamily Diplurinae, family Aviculariidae. Later the subfamily was raised to the family Dipluridae with Hexathelinae as a subfamily – the classification used by Raymond R. Forster when he described many new species. The subfamily was split off as a full family, Hexathelidae, by Robert J. Raven in 1980.
Species
As of April 2016, the World Spider Catalog accepted the following species: