Cuban Whip Spider (Paraphrynus cubensis)

Paraphrynus cubensis
Cuban whip spider / Cuban tailless whip scorpion. Amblypygi, family Phrynidae — not a spider and not a scorpion.

A small Cuban endemic. Adults max out around 16 mm in body length, darker and stockier than Damon. In Cuba they show up under rocks and rubble, in houses, and sometimes in caves. No venom. Pedipalps can pinch. Whip legs are fragile and often incomplete until the next molt.

This species almost never appears in the US trade. Stock here comes from captive-bred animals descended from established US keepers (original imports via Frank Somma, 2020–2021). We will label CB vs original import on the animal. There is no current market listing to compare them against.

Care overview

Same bones as other whip spiders: secure enclosure with vertical cork or bark, one animal unless you have a lot of cover. Moisture-holding substrate kept damp, not swampy. Mid-70s °F, humidity on the higher side (about 65–80%) with airflow. Mist walls or wet the substrate so they can drink droplets — don’t soak the animal.

They grow slowly. Feed appropriately sized crickets or roaches weekly; pre-killed is fine if they take it. Don’t raise babies on fruit flies alone. No calcium or vitamin dusting. Do not handle the whips. No UVB.