Macrothele calpeiana

Macrothele calpeiana, the Gibraltar or Spanish funnel-web spider, is one of the largest and most fierce-looking spiders in Europe.

The satin black colour and long flexible spinnerets are unmistakable. The carapace is low and flat and the eyes are in a compact group. The female resembles the male but has a larger abdomen. The male can grow to nearly 30 millimetres (1.2 in) long with the female going over that. Like all funnel-web spiders, this spider's web is funnel-shaped with trip-threads around the entrance, built among stones and roots. Its geographical range includes Gibraltar, Spain, Portugal and north-west Africa. The venom is not deadly to humans.

It is the type species of its genus.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Macrothele calpeiana.

Wikispecies has information related to: Macrothele calpeiana

• JIMÉNEZ-VALVERDE, A. & LOBO, J. M. (2006) Distribution determinants of endangered Iberian spider Macrothele calpeiana (Araneae, Hexathelidae). Environmental Entomology, 35(6): 1491-1499.
• JIMÉNEZ-VALVERDE, A. & LOBO, J. M. (2007) Potential distribution of the endangered spider Macrothele calpeiana (Walckenaer, 1805) (Araneae, Hexathelidae) and the impact of climate warming. Acta Zoologica Sinica, 53: 865-876.
• JIMÉNEZ-VALVERDE, A. (2009) Absence points of Macrothele calpeiana (Walckenaer, 1805) (Araneae, Hexathelidae) in Morocco (North Africa). Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa, 44: 559-561.
• JIMÉNEZ-VALVERDE, A., GARCÍA-DÍEZ, T. & BOGAERTS, S. (2007) First records of the endangered spider Macrothele calpeiana (Walckenaer, 1805) (Hexathelidae) in Portugal. Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa, 41: 445-446.