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Sparassidae Thelcticopis

Thelcticopis orichalcea (Simon, 1880)

Golden Heavy Huntsman

Individuals of both sexes appear similar and distinctive. Both have a massive body clothed with yellow, fur-like hair. In some individuals, the carapace or abdomen (or both) may appear black because the yellow hairs are easily rubbed off. The legs and chelicerae are black and robust, with a dense lining of long and thick reddish hairs along the inner edges of the chelicerae.

Length♀ 26–30 mm; ♂ 23–25 mm
Type LocalityBorneo
DistributionSingapore, Malaysia (Selangor, Perak, Sarawak, Sabah), Indonesia (Sumatra), Brunei.
HabitatLow foliage in secondary and freshwater swamp forests, sometimes on garden grounds.
BiologyIn captivity, it readily builds a retreat by stitching adjoining leaves with silk. The spider can be aggressive. When disturbed, it habitually raises the cephalothorax and the first three pairs of legs (similar to the threat posture adopted by some tarantulas), and spreads the chelicerae outwards getting set to bite. Its bites can cause local swelling and acute pain, and in one of two reported cases, neck and joint ache lasting for two days.

Taxonomy

Type Deposits*

  1. Holotype

    Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (MNHN), Paris, France; ♂ (AR16403) (Ng et al., 2022)

Taxonomic references*

  1. Themeropis orichalcea (Original description ♂)

    Simon, 1880a Révision de la famille des Sparassidae (Arachnides): 336

  2. Themeropis orichalcea (♂)

    van Hasselt, 1882 Araneae: 40, pl. 5, f. 3-5 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.119451

  3. Thelcticopis silagensis (new name for T. orichalcea sensu van Hasselt, 1882: 40)

    Thorell, 1890a Studi sui ragni Malesi e Papuani: 34

  4. Thelcticopis orichalcea (Original description ♀, Synonym of Thelcticopis silagensis)

    Thorell, 1892a Studi sui ragni Malesi e Papuani: 44

  5. Thelcticopis orichalcea

    Simon, 1897a Histoire naturelle des araignées. Deuxième édition, tome second: 68, f doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51973

  6. Thelcticopis orichalcea (♂♀)

    Ng et al., 2022 Notes on the black-and-gold huntsman spider, Thelcticopis orichalcea (Simon, 1880), a charismatic Southeast-Asian species (Araneae: Sparassidae: Sparianthinae): 2, f. 1A-D, 2A-D, 4A-B, 5A-D, 6A-C doi:10.26107/NIS-2022-0116

* Retrieved from the World Spider Catalog.

Distribution Map for Thelcticopis orichalcea (Simon, 1880)

Singapore, Malaysia (Selangor, Perak, Sarawak, Sabah), Indonesia (Sumatra), Brunei.

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