---
title: "Desert Tarantula"
description: "Aphonopelma iodius — Insetti e ragni. Aphonopelma iodius is a species of spider in the tarantula family Theraphosidae, found in United States (California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah)."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/desert-tarantula
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Desert Tarantula

> Aphonopelma iodius — Insetti e ragni. Aphonopelma iodius is a species of spider in the tarantula family Theraphosidae, found in United States (California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah).

- Scientific name: *Aphonopelma iodius*
- Category: `insects` (Insetti e ragni)
- Habitats: `desert` (Deserto)
- iNaturalist observations: 5726
- Wikidata: [Q2314493](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2314493)
- iNaturalist taxon: [180759](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/180759)

## Names

- en: Desert Tarantula

## Countries with the most observations

US (4163)

## Summary

Aphonopelma iodius is a species of spider in the tarantula family Theraphosidae, found in United States (California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah). A 1997 paper combined it with three other previously described species (A. angusi, A. melanium,  and A. nevadanum) into a single species, calling it "A. iodium". However, iodius is a neuter comparative adjective and is the correct form. Aphonopelma smithii has also been synonymized with A. iodius. A. iodius is common in the Mojave Desert to the west of the Colorado River.

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

## Photo

![Desert Tarantula](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/desert-tarantula/medium.jpg)

Photo: Anne Parsons · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/137333372

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/desert-tarantula?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).