{{Short description|Genus of spiders}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = | image = Macrothele.gigas.female.frontal.-.tanikawa.jpg | image_caption = Threatening female ''Macrothele gigas'' | image2 = | image2_caption = | taxon = Macrothele | authority = Ausserer, 1871<ref name=wsc /> | type_species = ''M. calpeiana'' | type_species_authority = (Walckenaer, 1805) | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = 19, see text | synonyms = *''Orientothele'' <small>Mirza, Sanap & Kunte, 2017</small><ref name=Drol2017 /> | synonyms_ref = <ref name=wsc /> }}
'''''Macrothele''''' is a genus of mygalomorph spiders in the family Macrothelidae, and was first described by A. Ausserer in 1871.<ref name=Auss1871 /> Most of the species in the genus occur in Asia, from India to Japan, and Java, with two found in Africa, and two in Europe.<ref name=wsc /> The name is derived from Ancient Greek μακρός ("makro-"), meaning "big", and θηλή ("thele"), referring to the spinnerets.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
==Description== thumb|250px|Nest of ''M. gigas'' Spiders of this genus are fairly large, with females of some Chinese species ranging from {{convert|1|to|3|cm|1}} in body length. Males are smaller, sometimes only half that length.<ref name=Zhu2000 /> Macrothelids can be distinguished from other mygalomorph spiders by their larger posterior sigillae on the sternum, and the arrangement of the rows of teeth on the margin of the chelicerae: larger front-facing margin and smaller rear-facing.<ref name=Hedi2018 />
These spiders build tube-webs or funnel-webs under rocks or logs, or in crevices in the ground.<ref name=Zhu2000 />
==Taxonomy== The genus ''Macrothele'' was erected by Anton Ausserer in 1871, with the type species being ''Macrothele calpeiana'', formerly ''Mygale calpeiana''.<ref name=wsc /> {{citation needed|date=May 2018}} Ausserer placed the genus in the then very broadly defined family Theraphosidae. It was later placed in the Dipluridae and the Hexathelidae before being transferred to the Macrothelidae in 2018.<ref name=wsc /> A molecular phylogenetic study in 2018 suggested that ''Macrothele'' was a distinct, early diverging lineage within the Mygalomorphae. Accordingly, Simon's subfamily Macrothelinae was elevated to the family Macrothelidae. There is some doubt if the western and eastern species should be grouped in the same genus.<ref name=Murp2000 />
The following cladogram shows the possible relationship of ''Macrothele'' to related taxa:<ref name=Hedi2018 /> {{clade|style=line-height:100% |1={{clade |1=Dipluridae|state1=double |2={{clade |1=Hexathelidae |2={{clade |1=Porrhothelidae |2={{clade |1='''''Macrothele''''' ('''Macrothelidae''') |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Calisoga'' (Nemesiidae) |2=''Hebestatis'' (Halonoproctidae) }} |2={{clade |1=Atracidae |2=Actinopodidae }} }} }} }} }} }} }}
===Species=== thumb|right|250px|Female ''M. yaginumai'' thumb|Female ''M. amamiensis''
{{as of|2026|1}}, this genus includes nineteen species and one subspecies:<ref name="wsc" /> {{Div col}} * ''Macrothele arcuata'' <small>Tang, Zhao & Yang, 2020</small> – China * ''Macrothele auriculata'' <small>Zhang, Wu, Zhao & Yang, 2024</small> – China * ''Macrothele calpeiana'' <small>(Walckenaer, 1805)</small> – Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Algeria * ''Macrothele camerunensis'' <small>Simon, 1903</small> – Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea * ''Macrothele cangshanensis'' <small>Z. B. Yang, Zhao, Zhang & Z. Z. Yang, 2018</small> – China * ''Macrothele cretica'' <small>Kulczyński, 1903</small> – Greece (Crete) * ''Macrothele decemnotata'' <small>Simon, 1909</small> – Vietnam * ''Macrothele drolshageni'' <small>Özkütük, Elverici, Yağmur & Kunt, 2019</small> – Turkey * ''Macrothele indicola'' <small>(Tikader, 1969)</small> – India * ''Macrothele maculata'' <small>(Thorell, 1890)</small> – Myanmar, Indonesia (Sumatra, Java) ** ''M. m. annamensis'' <small>Hogg, 1922</small> – Vietnam * ''Macrothele multispine'' <small>Wang, Li & Yang, 2019</small> – China * ''Macrothele nullispine'' <small>Zhang, Wu, Zhao & Yang, 2024</small> – China * ''Macrothele proserpina'' <small>Simon, 1909</small> – Vietnam * ''Macrothele segmentata'' <small>Simon, 1892</small> – Malaysia * ''Macrothele simplicata'' <small>(Saito, 1933)</small> – Taiwan * ''Macrothele triangularis'' <small>Benoit, 1965</small> – DR Congo * ''Macrothele vidua'' <small>Simon, 1906</small> – India * ''Macrothele yongshengensis'' <small>Z. B. Yang, Zhao & Z. Z. Yang, 2019</small> – China * ''Macrothele yunlingensis'' <small>Z. B. Yang, Zhao & Z. Z. Yang, 2019</small> – China {{Div col end}}
Several species were moved to new genera: * ''Bannathele'' <small>Shao, Zhou & Lin, 2025</small> – China * ''Gigathele'' <small>Shao, Zhou & Lin, 2025</small> – China, Japan, Taiwan * ''Microthele'' <small>Shao, Zhou & Lin, 2025</small> – China * ''Orientothele'' <small>Mirza, Sanap & Kunte, 2017</small> – China, India * ''Spinathele'' <small>Shao, Zhou & Lin, 2025</small> – China, Taiwan, Laos * ''Vacrothele'' <small>Tang & Yang, 2022</small> – China, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong
==See also== *Raventoxin
==References== <references> <ref name="wsc">{{cite web | url=https://wsc.nmbe.ch/genus-catalog/1245 | title=Gen. Ausserer, 1871 | publisher=World Spider Catalog | doi=10.24436/2 | accessdate=2026-01-20}}</ref> <ref name="Auss1871">{{cite journal| last=Ausserer| first=A.| year=1871| title=Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Arachniden-Familie der Territelariae Thorell (Mygalidae Autor).| journal=Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien| pages=117–224| volume=21| author-link=Anton Ausserer}}</ref> <ref name="Drol2017">{{cite journal| last=Drolshagen| first=B.| year=2017| title=''Orientothele'' Mirza, Sanap & Kunte, 2017 is a junior synonym of ''Macrothele Ausserer'', 1871 (Araneae: Hexathelidae)| journal=Arachnology| volume=17| issue=6| page=282| doi=10.13156/arac.2017.17.6.282| s2cid=89984804}}</ref> <ref name="Hedi2018">{{cite journal| last1=Hedin| first1=M.| last2=Derkarabetian| first2=S.| last3=Ramírez| first3=M.J.| last4=Vink| first4=C.| last5=Bond| first5=J.E.| date=2018| title=Phylogenomic reclassification of the world's most venomous spiders (Mygalomorphae, Atracinae), with implications for venom evolution |journal=Scientific Reports| volume=8| issue=1636| page=1636| doi=10.1038/s41598-018-19946-2| name-list-style=amp| pmc=5785998| pmid=29374214| bibcode=2018NatSR...8.1636H}}</ref> <ref name="Murp2000">{{cite book| last1=Murphy| first1=Frances| last2=Murphy| first2=John| date=2000| title=An Introduction to the Spiders of South East Asia| publication-place=Kuala Lumpur| publisher=Malaysian Nature Society| name-list-style=amp}}</ref> <ref name="Zhu2000">{{cite journal| last1=Zhu| first1=M.S.| last2=Song| first2=D.X.| year=2000| title=Review of the Chinese funnel-web spiders of the genus ''Macrothele'', with descriptions of two new species (Araneae:Hexathelidae)| journal=The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology| volume=48| issue=1| pages=59–64| url=http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/48/48rbz059-064.pdf| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205021638/http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/48/48rbz059-064.pdf| access-date=2018-05-20| archive-date=2012-02-05| postscript= (with key to Chinese species)| name-list-style=amp}}</ref> </references>
==External links== * {{inaturalist taxon}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q98876}}
Category:Macrothelidae Category:Mygalomorphae genera Category:Spiders of Asia Category:Spiders of Africa