A new genus of bamboo culm tarantula from Thailand (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae)

Abstract

Bamboo plays an important role in the animal world, including providing a nutritious food source, shelter, and habitat. Inside of bamboo culm, we discovered a new genus of tarantula, which we describe here as Taksinus gen. nov. (♂♀). Specimens of this new tarantula were collected from Mae Tho, Mueang Tak district, Tak province, in Thailand, making it geographically distant from any other arboreal genera. Genital morphology was used to diagnose its genus, which is supported by distributional data, natural history, morphological characters, and photographic illustrations of the male and female. Diagnosis of the new genus was determined by distinguishing its different characters from those of other arboreal theraphosid spiders distributed throughout Southeast Asia. This tarantula’s specialization is that it lives in the stalks of the Asian bamboo Gigantochloa sp.