List of tarantulas of Sri Lanka

Wildlife of Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka is a tropical island situated close to the southern tip of India. The invertebrate fauna is as large as it is common to other regions of the world. There are about 2 million species of arthropods found in the world, and still it is counting. So many new species are discover up to this time also. So it is very complicated and difficult to summarize the exact number of species found within a certain region.

The following list provide the tarantulas in Sri Lanka.

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,^[1] 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 7 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.^[2]

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
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

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