Avicularioidea

Avicularioidea is a clade of mygalomorph spiders, one of the two main clades into which mygalomorphs are divided (the other being the Atypoidea). It has been treated at the rank of superfamily.

Avicularioidea Temporal range: Triassic–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Male Avicularia juruensis
Porrhothele antipodiana
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Chelicerata
Class:	Arachnida
Order:	Araneae
Infraorder:	Mygalomorphae
Clade:	Avicularioidea Simon 1874
Families
See text

Taxonomy

The division of the Mygalomorphae into two clades, Atypoidea and Avicularioidea, has been established in many studies.^[1][2][3][4] Avicularioidea has been treated as a superfamily (at one time including all mygalomorph spiders),^[5] although other authors have placed superfamilies, such as Theraphosoidea, within Avicularioidea.^[1] The name is based on the family name "Aviculariidae", a junior synonym of Theraphosidae,^[6] ultimately deriving from the genus Avicularia.

The Atypoidea retain some vestiges of abdominal segmentation in the form of dorsal tergites; the Avicularioidea lack these. Relationships within the Avicularioidea are not settled as of September 2018^[update]. Some established families have been shown not to be monophyletic. In 2018, the family Hexathelidae was split up, and three new families created within the Avicularioidea: Atracidae, Macrothelidae, and Porrhothelidae.^[3] Further changes are possible in the future.^[2]

Families

The families included in the Avicularoidea as of January 2024^[update] are:^[2][3][4]

• Actinopodidae
• Anamidae^[7]
• Atracidae – Australian funnel-web spiders
• Barychelidae – brushed trapdoor spiders
• Bemmeridae^[7]
• Ctenizidae
• Cyrtaucheniidae – wafer trapdoor spiders
• Dipluridae – curtain-web spiders
• Entypesidae^[7]
• Euagridae^[7]
• Euctenizidae
• Halonoproctidae
• Hexathelidae
• Idiopidae – armoured trapdoor spiders
• Ischnothelidae^[7]
• Macrothelidae
• Microhexuridae^[7]
• Microstigmatidae
• Migidae – tree trapdoor spiders
• Nemesiidae
• Paratropididae – baldlegged spiders
• Porrhothelidae
• Pycnothelidae^[7]
• Stasimopidae^[7]
• Theraphosidae – tarantulas

Also included is the extinct family Fossilcalcaridae (Cretaceous)^[8] and the incertae sedis genera Cretamygale (Cretaceous) and Rosamygale (Triassic).