Monocentropus

{{Short description| Genus of spiders}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| taxon = Monocentropus

| image = Monocentropus_balfouri_Pocock,_1897.jpg

| image_caption = Monocentropus balfouri

| authority = Pocock, 1897

| type_species = M. balfouri

| type_species_authority = Pocock, 1897

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision =

• M. balfouri Pocock, 1897 – Yemen (Socotra)
• M. lambertoni Fage, 1922 – Madagascar
• M. longimanus Pocock, 1903 – Yemen

}}

Monocentropus is a genus of tarantulas that was first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1897.{{cite journal| last=Pocock| first=R. I.| year=1897| title=On the spiders of the suborder Mygalomorphae from the Ethiopian Region, contained in the collection of the British Museum| journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London| pages=724–774| volume=65| issue=3| doi=10.1111/j.1096-3642.1897.tb03116.x| url=https://rcin.org.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?showContent=true&id=107640| author-link=Reginald Innes Pocock}} {{as of|2020|03}} it contains three species, found on Madagascar and in Yemen: M. balfouri, M. lambertoni, and M. longimanus.{{cite journal| title=Gen. Monocentropus Pocock, 1897| website=World Spider Catalog Version 20.0| accessdate=2020-04-22| year=2020| publisher=Natural History Museum Bern| url=http://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/genus/3390| doi=10.24436/2}}

M. balfouri has many unusual characteristics for a tarantula species, most notably their heightened defensiveness towards humans, gregarious nature with others of their own kind, and strong maternal instincts, with mothers even bringing food to their spiderlings. Their striking blue coloration and tendency to live in colonies make them an attractive, rewarding but challenging and obstreperous-natured pet.{{Cite web|date=2019-06-02|title=Monocentropus balfouri 101: Care, Enclosure, Temperament & More|url=https://beyondthetreat.com/monocentropus-balfouri/|access-date=2021-05-27|website=Beyond The Treat|language=en-US}}