| Orphnaecus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Family: | Theraphosidae |
| Subfamily: | Selenocosmiinae |
| Genus: | Orphnaecus Simon, 18921 |
| Type species | |
| O. pellitus Simon, 1892
| |
| Species | |
|
6, see text | |
Orphnaecus is a genus of tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1892.2 They have close to fifty lanceolate stridulatory spines on the chelicerae, known as "strikers". The male embolus has a single strong retrolateral keel.3 It was considered a senior synonym of Chilocosmia and Selenobrachys;3 however, more recent studies have found the three genera sufficiently different to remain separate.4
Species
As of March 2025 it contains 6 species, all from the Philippines:1
- Orphnaecus adamsoni Salamanes, Santos, Austria & Villancio, 2022
- Orphnaecus kwebaburdeos Barrion-Dupo, Barrion & Rasalan, 2015
- Orphnaecus libmanan Acuña et al., 2025
- Orphnaecus mimbilisanensis Sumogat, Acuña & Nuñeza, 2025
- Orphnaecus pellitus Simon, 1892 (type)
- Orphnaecus tangcongvaca Acuña et al., 2025
Transferred to other genera
- Orphnaecus dichromatus (Schmidt & von Wirth, 1992) → Chilocosmia dichromata
- Orphnaecus philippinus (Schmidt, 1999) → Selenobrachys philippinus
References
References
- "Gen. Orphnaecus Simon, 1892". World Spider Catalog Version 26.0. Natural History Museum Bern. 2025. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
- Simon, E. (1892), "Arachnides", Raffrey, A
- West, R. C.; Nunn, S. C.; Hogg, S. (2012). "A new tarantula genus, Psednocnemis, from west Malaysia (Araneae: Theraphosidae), with cladistic analysis and biogeography of Selenocosmiinae Simon 1889". Zootaxa. 3299: 23. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3299.1.1.
- Acuña, Darrell C; Dumbrique, Maria Mikaela U; Ranido, Maricel C; Ragasa, Lorenz Rhuel P; Noriega, Charles Nylxon C; Mayor, Anna Beatriz R; Florendo Jr, Gregorio Antonio; Fadri, Mary Jane A; von Wirth, Volker; Santiago-Bautista, Myla R; Guevarra Jr, Leonardo A (31 Mar 2025). "Taxonomic revalidation of Selenobrachys Schmidt, 1999 and Chilocosmia Schmidt & von Wirth, 1992 based on morphological and molecular analyses (Araneae, Theraphosidae), with the description of a new species from Romblon Island, Philippines". ZooKeys (1233): 139–193. Bibcode:2025ZooK.1233..139A. doi:10.3897/zookeys.1233.128056. PMC 11976310. PMID 40201758. Retrieved 8 November 2025.