Monocentropus
| Monocentropus | |
|---|---|
| Monocentropus balfouri | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Family: | Theraphosidae |
| Genus: | Monocentropus Pocock, 1897[1] |
| Type species | |
| M. balfouri Pocock, 1897
| |
| Species | |
| |
Monocentropus is a genus of tarantulas that was first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1897.[2] As of December 2025 it officially contains two species, found in Madagascar and in Yemen: M. balfouri and M. lambertoni.[1] Though recently, the position of M. lambertoni has been put into question, being deemed an incerta sedis.[3]
M. balfouri has many unusual characteristics for a tarantula species, most notably their heightened defensiveness towards humans, gregarious nature with others of their own kind, and strong maternal instincts, with mothers even bringing food to their spiderlings. Their striking blue coloration and tendency to live in colonies make them an attractive, rewarding but challenging and obstreperous-natured pet.[3]
Description
Monocentropus strongly resembles the genus Satyrex, with Satyrex longimanus originally being considered a part of Monocentropus. As well as M. lambertoni possibly being part of the same genus. Apart from their behavior, species of this genus can be distinguished by their not elongated male palp.
References
- ^ a b "Gen. Monocentropus Pocock, 1897". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. 2020. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
- ^ Pocock, R. I. (1897). "On the spiders of the suborder Mygalomorphae from the Ethiopian Region, contained in the collection of the British Museum". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 65 (3): 724–774. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1897.tb03116.x.
- ^ a b Zamani, Alireza; von Wirth, Volker; Fabiánek, Přemysl; Höfling, Jonas; Just, Pavel; Korba, Jan; Petzold, Alice; Stockmann, Mark; Elmi, Hassan Sh Abdirahman; Vences, Miguel; Opatova, Vera (2025). "Size matters: a new genus of tarantula with the longest male palps, and an integrative revision of Monocentropus Pocock, 1897 (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Eumenophorinae)". ZooKeys (1247): 89–126. Bibcode:2025ZooK.1247...89Z. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1247.162886. ISSN 1313-2989. PMC 12308207. PMID 40746630.