List of tarantulas of Sri Lanka

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Wildlife of Sri Lanka

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Part of a series on

Wildlife of Sri Lanka

Protected areas

Protected areas of Sri Lanka

National parks

Biosphere reserves

Sanctuaries

Flora and faunaVertebrates

Invertebrates

Flora

GardensZoological gardens

Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

Dehiwala Zoo

Pinnawala Open Zoo

Ridiyagama Safari Park

Botanical gardens

OrganizationsAuthorities

Department of Forest Conservation

Department of Wildlife Conservation

Civil societies

Field Ornithology Group

Tarantulas

Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Family: Theraphosidae

Tarantulas are easily identified by their hairy nature and large size from other commonly encountered spiders. Throughout the world, they are considered as a popular exotic pets, as most of the tarantulas are non-poisonous to humans. In Sri Lanka, the largest known specimens are size of a dinner plate, or size of the palm. There are over 9000 species of tarantulas are described from all over the world, where they are not found in most of the Europe, North America and other Arctic colder regions. They are well distributed in Africa, south of Asia, South America, and Oceania. Indian subcontinent including India and Sri Lanka is home to 15 tarantula species, where India has 7 endemic species and Sri Lanka has 9 endemic species, where another one species is native to both countries.

The species called Poecilotheria amarasekarai is still in debate, whether it is a distinct species or the morph of Poecilotheria rajaei.

The species Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica, thought to be endemic to India, was recently found from Mannar district of Sri Lanka.

The species once classified as Poecilotheria vittata is now identified as the same species of Poecilotheria striata, which is endemic to India.

Name	Binomial	Distribution in island
	Chilobrachys nitelinus
	Plesiophrictus tenuipes
Lowland ivory ornamental tarantula	Poecilotheria bara	Central
Sri Lankan ornamental tarantula	Poecilotheria fasciata	Central
Rameshwaram ornamental tarantula	Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica	North-Western
Fringed ornamental tarantula	Poecilotheria ornata	Southern
Mankulam Pink-banded ornamental tarantula	Poecilotheria rajaei	Northern
Yellow-backed ornamental tarantula	Poecilotheria smithi	South Central
Ivory ornamental tarantula	Poecilotheria subfusca	South Central
Common ornamental tarantula	Poecilotheria uniformis	Central

References

"Tarantula the size of a dinner plate discovered in Sri Lanka".
Nanayakkara, Ranil P.; Ganehiarachchi, G.A.S. Mangala; Vishvanath, Nilantha; Kusuminda, Thambiliya Godage Tharaka (2015). "Discovery of the Critically Endangered Tarantula Species of the Genus Poecilotheria (Araneae: Theraphosidae), Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica, from Sri Lanka". Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity. 8: 1–6. doi:10.1016/j.japb.2015.01.002.

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