Dolichothele

Dolichothele is a small genus of brightly coloured dwarf tarantulas from central and eastern Brazil and neighbouring Bolivia, currently placed in the family Theraphosidae. It was erected in 1923 by Brazilian arachnologist Cândido Firmino de Mello-Leitão for Dolichothele exilis, based on a female from the caatinga around Campina Grande, Paraíba, and was originally assigned to the trapdoor-spider family Barychelidae. In 1971, a re-examination of the type specimen showed it actually belongs among the tarantulas, and the genus was transferred into Theraphosidae (then treated in the subfamily Ischnocolinae).

The group then went through a long period of taxonomic turbulence. Raven’s influential 1985 revision of mygalomorph spiders treated Dolichothele as part of the Andean genus Hapalotremus, effectively sinking Dolichothele into synonymy. Over the following decades, many of the small Brazilian species now familiar to hobbyists were described in, or moved to, related genera such as Oligoxystre, Pseudoligoxystre, Goniodontium and Hapalotremus.

In 2015, Lucas & Indicatti revisited the type material and revalidated Dolichothele as a distinct genus, showing that it is actually the senior name for Goniodontium, Oligoxystre and Pseudoligoxystre. This work created a series of new combinations and brought several well-known dwarf species—most famously Dolichothele diamantinensis, the “Brazilian Blue Dwarf Beauty”—under the Dolichothele name. Subsequent studies, especially the 2017 ZooKeys paper describing D. camargorum and D. mottai, further refined the diagnosis and mapped the genus across cerrado and caatinga habitats in Brazil and Bolivia.

Today, the World Spider Catalog recognises around ten Dolichothele species, nearly all endemic to Brazil with one extending into Bolivia. These compact, ground-dwelling tarantulas have become popular in the hobby thanks to their intense metallic blues, greens and reds, combined with intricate webbing behaviour—and a taxonomic history that’s every bit as colourful as the spiders themselves.

Dolichothele rufoniger

Dolichothele rufoniger is a fast, visually striking New World “semi-dwarf” terrestrial tarantula from Brazil. In captivity it’s known for its speed, heavy webbing, and “home-base” retreat behavior—often laying thick sheets of silk across the substrate and around a hide, then bolting back to safety when disturbed. While not typically defensive in the way many Old World species can be, it can still be skittish and reactive, making it best appreciated as a display animal rather than a handling species.

Coloration can be eye-catching and may vary by locality/line, but the classic look is a warm red/orange tone on the carapace and proximal legs with darker (often blackish) distal leg segments, giving it a bold high-contrast appearance. Many keepers also describe a vivid pink-to-red abdomen effect, especially under bright lighting. Adult size is generally in the 3–4 inch (8–10 cm) DLS range, keeping it compact while still very active and fun to observe.

Common name: No universally standardized scientific common name; in hobby usage it is sometimes referred to as the Brazilian Citrus Blue, Neon Pink, or Dolichothele rufoniger.

Origin: Brazil.

Natural habitat: Brazilian terrestrial habitat; best interpreted as a ground-associated tarantula rather than an arboreal species.

Lifestyle: New World terrestrial theraphosid, often treated in captivity as a heavy-webbing terrestrial or opportunistic burrower.

Adult size: Small to medium-sized terrestrial tarantula; published mature size is not standardized in catalog-level sources.

Growth rate: Not standardized in the primary taxonomic literature.

Temperament: No formal behavioral diagnosis exists; captive behavioral notes are largely hobby-derived. Can be skittish and bolty.

Color & appearance: Species recognition in the scientific literature is based on morphology and patterning rather than hobby terminology; in live and hobby contexts it is especially noted for vivid reddish, pink, purple, or blue-toned coloration depending on age and lighting.

Species History

The story of D. rufoniger is tied to a long-running “sorting out” of several small-bodied South American tarantula genera.

• Early genus history (1920s–1980s):
  The genus Dolichothele was established in the early 20th century as researchers described small Brazilian tarantulas with distinctive mouthpart and leg-scopula features. Over time, however, theraphosid taxonomy shifted repeatedly as authors compared limited specimens and evolving diagnostic characters. By the late 20th century, some workers treated Dolichothele as not clearly distinct (or merged it) within other groupings—common for small ischnocoline tarantulas where defining traits can be subtle and historically under-sampled.

• 2007 — the species is described (as Oligoxystre rufoniger):
  In 2007, arachnologist José Paulo Leite Guadanucci published a revision of the genus Oligoxystre and described rufoniger as a new species. The original material included a male holotype from Piauí and female material from Bahia, with additional examined specimens from other Brazilian localities. The name “rufoniger” was chosen specifically to describe the red-and-black leg pattern highlighted in the description.

• 2015 — major revision and the modern name (Dolichothele rufoniger):
  In 2015, researchers Sylvia M. Lucas and Rafael P. Indicatti re-examined the boundaries of these related genera and published a taxonomic update that revalidated Dolichothele as a distinct genus. As part of that work, Oligoxystre was treated as a synonym of Dolichothele, and “rufoniger” was moved accordingly—creating the currently accepted combination Dolichothele rufoniger.
  This change wasn’t about the animal “changing,” but about scientists refining which genus best fits its defining anatomical traits as the broader family tree was clarified.

• Today:
  D. rufoniger is recognized under Dolichothele, and ongoing studies continue to refine relationships among South American theraphosids as new material, better imaging, and modern analyses improve genus-level definitions.

Natural Habitat

Dolichothele rufoniger is native to northeastern/central-eastern Brazil, with records from Piauí and multiple localities in Bahia, and additional records reported from Paraíba. It occurs in seasonally dry landscapes—including Cerrado savanna environments and dry-forest/caatinga-influenced regions—where ground conditions can be warm, well-draining, and often rocky.

In the wild, it is best thought of as an opportunistic ground-dweller that makes use of soil pockets, shallow burrows, crevices, and protected retreats beneath surface cover (rocks, roots, debris). This lines up well with its captive behavior: establishing a secure hide and then building extensive webbing around it to create a stable, protected micro-territory.

Our Specimen

We currently have a juvenile D. rufoniger. Our specimen has been quick to bolt and has taken a couple of trips outside of its enclosure during feeding.

Dolichothele diamantinensis

Dolichothele diamantinensis is an accepted Brazilian theraphosid originally described in 2009 as Oligoxystre diamantinensis and later transferred to Dolichothele in 2015. It is widely known in the hobby as the Brazilian Blue Dwarf Beauty and is currently recognized by the World Spider Catalog as a Brazilian species.

Common name: Brazilian Blue Dwarf Beauty.

Origin: Brazil.

Natural habitat: Brazilian highland terrestrial habitat; the original description places it in campo rupestre areas above 900 meters, with rocky outcrops and shallow soils.

Lifestyle: New World terrestrial theraphosid. In captivity it is commonly treated as a heavy-webbing terrestrial or opportunistic burrower.

Adult size: Small terrestrial tarantula; catalog-level taxonomic sources do not standardize a single mature size value.

Growth rate: Not standardized in the primary taxonomic literature.

Temperament: No formal behavioral diagnosis exists; captive behavioral notes are largely hobby-derived.

Color & appearance: Species recognition in the scientific literature is based on morphology and patterning rather than hobby terminology; in live and hobby contexts it is especially noted for metallic blue to blue-green coloration with contrasting reddish abdominal setae.

Species History

Dolichothele diamantinensis entered the literature in 2009 as Oligoxystre diamantinensis, based on material from Brazil. In 2015 it was transferred to Dolichothele, where it remains today, and the World Spider Catalog also records a 2020 treatment of the male. This gives the species a relatively clear modern taxonomic history: original description in Oligoxystre, later transfer to Dolichothele, and continued recognition under its current combination.

The species is also significant within the Brazilian dwarf theraphosids because it helps illustrate the taxonomic reshuffling that has occurred among small New World tarantulas in recent decades. Its current placement in Dolichothele reflects that broader revisionary work rather than a simple unchanged classification from the time of its original description.

Natural Habitat

The original description states that specimens were found in Brazilian campo rupestre habitat, a rocky highland environment characterized by elevations above 900 meters, extensive outcropping, and reduced soil depth. This places D. diamantinensis in a very different ecological setting from lowland rainforest theraphosids and supports interpreting it as a highland terrestrial species associated with exposed rocky landscapes and shallow substrate.

For practical presentation, the most defensible scientific summary is that Dolichothele diamantinensis is a Brazilian terrestrial tarantula from rocky upland habitat rather than an arboreal forest species. In captive interpretation, that record aligns with a setup offering ground cover, structure for webbing, and secure retreats rather than a vertically oriented arboreal enclosure. The enclosure point is an inference from the documented habitat together with consistent hobby treatment of the species as a terrestrial heavy webber.

Dolichothele exilis

Dolichothele exilis is a small-bodied Brazilian tarantula best thought of as a ground-dwelling, retreat-oriented species from the seasonally dry “Dry Diagonal” region of northeastern Brazil. In collections, it’s often marketed under trade names like “Brazilian Bronze” or “Exilis Bronze” (names inspired by its typically subtle, warm-toned appearance), and it’s appreciated as a compact display tarantula that spends much of its time anchored to a secure hide.

Although detailed field natural history notes for this species are still limited in the mainstream hobby literature, modern biodiversity work increasingly treats D. exilis as a widely distributed Caatinga tarantula with additional records beyond strict Caatinga boundaries—making it a useful “model species” for understanding how Caatinga lineages diversify and spread across neighboring ecoregions.

Common name: No universally standardized scientific common name; in hobby usage it is sometimes referred to as the Exilis Bronze or Dolichothele exilis.

Origin: Brazil.

Natural habitat: Brazilian terrestrial habitat; best interpreted as a ground-associated tarantula rather than an arboreal species.

Lifestyle: New World terrestrial theraphosid, often treated in captivity as a heavy-webbing terrestrial or opportunistic burrower.

Adult size: Small terrestrial tarantula; public hobby sources commonly place adults around 2 inches, though catalog-level taxonomic sources do not standardize a single mature size value.

Growth rate: Not standardized in the primary taxonomic literature.

Temperament: No formal behavioral diagnosis exists; captive behavioral notes are largely hobby-derived.

Color & appearance: Species recognition in the scientific literature is based on morphology and patterning rather than hobby terminology; in live and hobby contexts it is often noted for bronze to copper-toned coloration.

Species History

1923 — described and becomes the anchor for its genus
The genus Dolichothele was established by Cândido Firmino de Mello-Leitão (1923) and was originally described based on a single species: Dolichothele exilis, from the Brazilian state of Paraíba. In that original early placement, it was even treated within Barychelidae—a reflection of how fluid mygalomorph classification still was at the time.

1971 — family placement corrected
Later, Bücherl, Timotheo da Costa & Lucas (1971) examined the female holotype and transferred the taxon into Theraphosidae (Ischnocolinae), aligning it with tarantulas rather than barychelids.

1980s–2000s — “where does Dolichothele belong?” debate
In a major revision of mygalomorph spiders, Raven (1985) treated Dolichothele (and the related genus Goniodontium) as junior synonyms of Hapalotremus—but this view did not become universally accepted. Later, Schmidt (2002) restored Dolichothele (treating it as uncertain placement at the time), which kept the name in circulation while the group’s relationships were being re-evaluated.

2015 — modern revision stabilizes the concept
A key modern step came when Lucas & Indicatti (2015) re-examined the holotype of the type species (D. exilis) and:

• revalidated Dolichothele,

• treated it as the senior synonym of Goniodontium and Oligoxystre, and

• synonymized several names under D. exilis—including Oligoxystre caatinga and Goniodontium muticum (and associated synonymy actions recorded in current catalogs).

2018 — loss of type material
The historical type specimens housed at Brazil’s Museu Nacional (MNRJ) were recorded as destroyed in the 2018 fire, an important footnote in the species’ documentation history.

Natural Habitat

Biome and range context
The type locality for D. exilis is Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil, explicitly within the Caatinga biome.
Caatinga is characterized by strong seasonality in rainfall, and by contrasting soil/geomorphological formations across the region—conditions that shape how species distributions and local adaptations form over time.

Where it’s found across landscapes
Recent research activity (including population-level sampling efforts) treats D. exilis as occurring across multiple Caatinga ecoregions, with additional records/sampling from neighboring biomes such as the Cerrado and even Atlantic Forest areas—supporting the idea that the species (or species-complex lineages) can occupy a broader environmental gradient than Caatinga alone.

What the habitat is like “on the ground”
Seasonally dry, warm environments where a tarantula benefits from secure refuges that buffer daily heat and dry-season stress (e.g., soil pockets, protected ground cover, crevices). This aligns with why the species is repeatedly studied in the context of Caatinga’s seasonal climate and ecoregion structure.

Our Specimen

We currently have a D. exilis sling.