New Aggressive Tarantula Genus With Long Palps
Posted on August 3, 2025
An entirely new genus of tarantulas has been identified after four new species were discovered in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa The new species is known for male spiders with extra long palps. The species are also known for loud hissing and aggression.
The genus was named Satyrex which combines the figure from Greek mythology known as Satyr with "rex," the Latin word for king.
The largest species, Satyrex ferox is the largest species in the genus. It has a legspan of 14 centimeters and male palps that are 5 centimeters in length.
Dr. Alireza Zamani of the University of Turku, who led the study, says, "This species is highly defensive. At the slightest disturbance, it raises its front legs in a threat posture and produces a loud hissing sound by rubbing specialized hairs on the basal segments of the front legs against each other".
The tarantulas are all fossorial, meaning they live underground in a burrow.
You can see an action video of one the aggressive tarantulas on EurekAlert.
The article was published in the journal, ZooKeys.
Image: Přemysl Fabiánek