---
title: "Tiger Bromeliad Spider"
description: "Cupiennius salei — Insects & spiders. Cupiennius salei, from the genus Cupiennius also commonly called the tiger bromeliad spider, which are large bodied, actively-hunting spiders that are part of the family Trechaleidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/tiger-bromeliad-spider
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Tiger Bromeliad Spider

> Cupiennius salei — Insects & spiders. Cupiennius salei, from the genus Cupiennius also commonly called the tiger bromeliad spider, which are large bodied, actively-hunting spiders that are part of the family Trechaleidae.

- Scientific name: *Cupiennius salei*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: `jungle` (Jungle)
- iNaturalist observations: 2126
- Wikidata: [Q2182469](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2182469)
- iNaturalist taxon: [53392](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/53392)

## Names

- en: Tiger Bromeliad Spider
- es: Araña vagabunda atigrada

## Countries with the most observations

MX (800), BZ (214), HN (155), GT (119), NI (101), CR (6), SV (5)

## Summary

Cupiennius salei, from the genus Cupiennius also commonly called the tiger bromeliad spider, which are large bodied, actively-hunting spiders that are part of the family Trechaleidae. 
In the mid-1950s it was realised that the spider is an ideal model for biological research because of their large size, predictable behaviour, and ease of breeding in laboratories. From an initial 1963 publication on its biological characteristics, their venom has also become one of the most studied among spiders, which now known to include complex Neurotoxins, such as cupiennins and CSTX. 
As with most spiders which also use venom…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupiennius_salei

## Photo

![Tiger Bromeliad Spider](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/tiger-bromeliad-spider/medium.jpg)

Photo: geralg · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/69907006

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/tiger-bromeliad-spider?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).