Macrothele

Macrothele is a genus of mygalomorph spiders in the family Macrothelidae, and was first described by A. Ausserer in 1871. 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. The name is derived from Ancient Greek μακρός ("makro-"), meaning "big", and θηλή ("thele"), referring to the spinnerets.

==Description== thumb|250px|Nest of M. gigas Spiders of this genus are fairly large, with females of some Chinese species ranging from in body length. Males are smaller, sometimes only half that length. 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.