The type material of several Central American tarantulas
(Theraphosidae; Theraphosinae) were re-examined within a
broader revision involving the defunct genus Eurypelma Koch,
1850 and the poorly defined Aphonopelma Pocock, 1901. Here,
we create the new monotypic genus Sandinista gen. nov. for
a revised taxon Sandinista lanceolatum (Simon, 1891) comb.
nov., which is a small tarantula from the Pacific lowland dry
forests of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. It was originally described
under Eurypelma and later transferred to Aphonopelma without
justification. Based on comparison of type specimens against
new material, we emphasise its unusual bulb anatomy to rediagnose
it as a new genus with suggested close affinity to
Aphonopelma Pocock, 1901 (sensu stricto), Sphaerobothria
Karsch, 1897, and Stichoplastoris Rudloff, 1997. We also
re-examined the type material of Brachypelma fossorium
Valerio, 1980, which is here treated as a junior synonym of S.
lanceolatum, syn. nov. We also discuss the Mexican/Central
American genus Crassicrus Reichling & West, 1999, into which
we transfer another former Eurypelma from the Yucatán. This
species was later called Aphonopelma stoicum (Chamberlin,
1925), which we revise as Crassicrus stoicum comb. nov. and
contrast against other described congeners. We also re-evaluate
two other specimens later determined as Aphonopelma stoicum
by Schmidt & Piepho (1997), including the alleged first female
for the species, and consider them as mis-identified congeners.
Finally, we provide some discussion on Citharacanthus
meermani Reichling & West, 2000 from Belize in the context
of Crassicrus, due to similar aspects of their male palpal bulb
morphology, highlighting potentially informative aspects.
Arachnology 18(2): 101-120
Montenegro et al. (2018) reported the theraphosid spider genus Homoeomma Ausserer, 1871 from Chile and described a new species of this genus with distinctive red and black colouration, naming it Homoeomma chilensis Montenegro & Aguilera, 2018. Soon after, Sherwood et al. (2018) described Homoeomma bicolor also from Chile having the same colouration. In this work, we demonstrate these nominal species to be synonymous and H. chilensis is regarded as the valid senior synonym of H. bicolor following the Article 23 of the Code (Anonymous 1999).
This case represents an instance where two independent scientific teams described the same taxon, in different journals published within a very short period of time of each other, respectively dated October and November of the same year, causing two available binominal names to exist for a single species (Anonymous 2019). Here we resolve this situation through synonymy, discuss an additional morphological character not mentioned in the original description by Montenegro et al. (2018) and note further intraspecific variation that exists for H. chilensis. Potential homonymy in Chilean theraphosid nomenclature is also discussed.
Bionomina 15: 69-73
A new species of theraphosid spider from
Chile is described: Homoeomma bicolor sp. nov.
Journal of the British Tarantula Society 33(3): 19-33
The tarantula genus Sericopelma was originally defined based on male specimens, most notably lacking tibial spurs on leg I. Early female specimens were unrecognised as Sericopelma, and typically placed in Eurypelma – a dumping ground for problem specimens. The first females were only later recognised, but authors failed to adequately define female Sericopelma. Here, the holotypes of the Southern-most alleged Brachypelma species, B. embrithes (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1936) and B. angustum Valerio, 1980 were examined, and finding both to possess defining characteristics of Sericopelma were transferred. The taxonomic attributes to define Sericopelma relative to Brachypelma and select other Neotropical genera are discussed, especially for females. As important diagnostic characters for Sericopelma, the single (unilobar) spermathecae
swollen at the apex forming a P-shaped cross-section, metatarsus IV with trace scopula, femur IV with a dense retrolateral pad of plumose hair, plus other attributes. Some past confusion in these characters are clarified and Sericopelma relative to Brachypelma and Megaphobema mesomelas are discussed. Finally recommendations are given about these taxonomic changes for CITES regulations.
ZooKeys 526: 75–104 (2015) doi: 10.3897/zookeys.526.6315
