Neoheterophrictus madraspatanus

Neoheterophrictus madraspatanus is a species of spider in the family Theraphosidae, found in India.[1]

Neoheterophrictus madraspatanus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Family: Theraphosidae
Genus: Neoheterophrictus
Species:
N. madraspatanus
Binomial name
Neoheterophrictus madraspatanus
(Graveley, 1935)[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Plesiophrictus madraspatanus Graveley, 1935

Description

Males vary in body length, ranging from 7  to 20 mm; the largest females are about 19 mm long. Both sexes are brownish in colour, lighter in smaller individuals and darker in larger ones. Males have special structures on the distal end of the tibia of their first legs, including on the ventral side a large curved projection (apophysis) whose apex is divided into three.[2]

Taxonomy

First described by Frederic Henry Gravely in 1935 in the genus Plesiophrictus,[1][2] the species was transferred to the genus Neoheterophrictus by Rajesh V. Sanap and Zeeshan A. Mirza in 2013,[1] based on the structure of the male tibial spur.[3]

Distribution

The original specimens were found in the city of Madras, India, and surrounding areas.[2]

References
  1. "Taxon details Neoheterophrictus madraspatanus (Gravely, 1935)", World Spider Catalog, Natural History Museum Bern, retrieved 2016-03-04
  2. Gravely, F.H. (1935), "Notes on Indian mygalomorph spiders. II", Records of the Indian Museum Calcutta, 37: 69–84
  3. Sanap, R.V. & Mirza, Z.A. (2013), "First description of female Plesiophrictus millardi Pocock, 1899 (Araneae: Theraphosidae)", Taprobanica, 5: 6–11, doi:10.4038/tapro.v5i1.5654, retrieved 2016-03-04


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