Dwarf tarantula
Spiders of the family Mecicobothriidae
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dwarf tarantulas, also known as sheet funnel-web spiders, are a type of spider from the family Mecicobothriidae. Dwarf tarantulas are one of several families of the suborder Mygalomorphae; this larger group also includes the true tarantulas.
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| Dwarf tarantula Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
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| Illustration of Mecicobothrium thorelli | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Clade: | Atypoidea |
| Family: | Mecicobothriidae Holmberg, 1882[1] |
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| blue: reported countries (WSC) | |
Description
Dwarf tarantulas, as the name indicates, appear very similar to tarantulas, but are physically much smaller. Many specimens are smaller than 1 cm in length, and the largest in the family are rarely bigger than 2 cm. The spiders, like all Mygalomorphae, have downward pointing fangs; dwarf tarantulas also have long spinnerets.
Genera
As of January 2026[update], this family includes one genus and two species:[1]
Mecicobothrium Holmberg, 1882
- Mecicobothrium baccai Lucas et al., 2006 – Brazil
- Mecicobothrium thorelli Holmberg, 1882 – Argentina, Uruguay
Genera moved to other families include:
- Hexura Simon, 1884 → Antrodiaetidae
- Hexurella Gertsch & Platnick, 1979 → Hexurellidae
- Megahexura Kaston, 1972 → Megahexuridae
