Polybetes is a genus of South American huntsman spiders that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1897. It is a senior synonym of Leptosparassus and Streptaedoea.
They are commonly found in tall grass and on the bark or branches of trees. At least two species have adapted to urban environments and have been found indoors. They are large and somewhat aggressive spiders, but their venom is not toxic enough to be dangerous to humans.
Species it contains fifteen species, all endemic to South America: Polybetes bombilius (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899) – Peru Polybetes delfini Simon, 1904 – Chile Polybetes fasciatus (Keyserling, 1880) – Brazil, Peru Polybetes germaini Simon, 1897 – Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina Polybetes hyeroglyphicus (Mello-Leitão, 1918) – Brazil Polybetes martius (Nicolet, 1849) (type) – Chile, Argentina Polybetes obnuptus Simon, 1897 – Bolivia, Argentina Polybetes pallidus Mello-Leitão, 1941 – Argentina Polybetes parvus (Järvi, 1914) – Paraguay Polybetes punctulatus Mello-Leitão, 1944 – Argentina Polybetes pythagoricus (Holmberg, 1875) – Brazil, Guyana, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina Polybetes quadrifoveatus (Järvi, 1914) – Argentina Polybetes rapidus (Keyserling, 1880) – Suriname to Argentina Polybetes rubrosignatus Mello-Leitão, 1943 – Brazil Polybetes trifoveatus (Järvi, 1914) – Paraguay, Argentina
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