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Hexathele
Hexathele is a genus of tunnelweb spiders endemic to New Zealand that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871,[2] though most others have been described by Raymond Robert Forster.[1] Originally placed with the curtain web spiders, it was moved to the Hexathelidae in 1980.[3] DescriptionMost species of Hexathele are relatively large spiders. Females of Hexathele waita, one of the largest species, may have a carapace 13 mm (0.5 in) long, and an abdomen 15 mm (0.6 in) long, with the longest leg (the fourth) being 38 mm (1.5 in) long in total. Hexathele species are generally brown to black in colour. Many species have a chevron pattern on the upper surface of the abdomen, with patterns often being unique to the species. The carapace of the cephalothorax has a more or less straight depression (fovea) in the centre. The eyes are arranged in a compact group. The male palp lacks tibial apophyses (projections), but the male's first pair of legs have double spines on the tibia. There are six spinnerets, with the posterior pair being three-segmented and relatively long.[4] TaxonomyThe genus was erected by Anton Ausserer in 1871, for the species Hexathele hochstetteri. Mygalomorph spiders were initially very broadly categorized; in 1892, Eugène Simon placed Hexathele in the group Hexatheleae, subfamily Diplurinae, family Aviculariidae.[5] Later the subfamily was raised to the family Dipluridae with Hexathelinae as a subfamily – the classification used by Raymond R. Forster when he described many new species.[4] The subfamily was split off as a full family, Hexathelidae, by Robert J. Raven in 1980.[1] SpeciesAs of May 2019[update] it contains twenty species, all found in New Zealand:[1]
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