The spiders of the genus Trichopelma Simon, 1888 present in Cuba, are
revised. Currently, the genus Trichopelma comprises 22 known species distributed in the
Caribbean, and Central and the upper region of South America. Cuba currently hosts
five valid species and, in this study, the descriptions of seven new species distributed
throughout the island are presented: T. baracoense sp. nov. (♂♀, Guantanamo prov.), T.
cheguevarai sp. nov. (♂, Ciego de Ávila prov.), T. citma sp. nov. (♀, Granma prov.), T.
fidelcastroi sp. nov. (♂♀, Holguín prov.), T. granmense sp. nov. (♂♀, Granma prov.), T.
rudloffi sp. nov. (♂♀, Holguín prov.) and T. soroense sp. nov. (♂♀, Artemisa prov.). Based
on morphological characters, a cladistic analysis was performed, revealing the
phylogenetic position of the new species compared to the species previously described.
Based on this phylogeny, morphological characters and close proximity in distribution,
T. banksia Özdikmen & Demir, 2012 syn. n., is proposed as a junior synonym of T.
cubanum (Simon, 1903). The genus Thalerommata Ausserer, 1871 is reported from Cuba
for the first time, with the description of T. anae sp. nov. (♂, Sancti Spíritus prov.).
Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 10(2): 347-399