The Stromatopelminae are a
subfamily of
tarantula
Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although m ...
s native to
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...
and part of
Central Africa
Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo ...
. The subfamily was first proposed by
Günter Schmidt in 1993.
[
]
Taxonomy
The subfamily Stromatopelminae was first proposed by Günter Schmidt in 1993.[ The genera he included had been placed in the subfamily Eumenophorinae by Raven in 1985.][ Schmidt excluded them as they did not have the typical stridulating organ on the coxa and ]trochanter
A trochanter is a tubercle of the femur near its joint with the hip bone. In humans and most mammals, the trochanters serve as important muscle attachment sites. Humans are known to have three trochanters, though the anatomic "normal" includes ...
of the palps
Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the second pair of appendages of chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to the chelicerae ("jaws") a ...
and legs which are present in Eumenophorinae.[ The subfamily was recovered as monophyletic in both a 2018 and a 2019 study, sister to the subfamily Harpactirinae.][
]
Genera
Schmidt included two genera,[ both found in tropical West and Central Africa.][ Both genera were included in the 2019 study that found the subfamily to be monophyletic.][
*'' Heteroscodra'' Pocock, 1899
*'' Stromatopelma'' Karsch, 1881
Gallon in 2005 also placed the monotypic genus '' Encyocratella'' in the subfamily.][ The genus was not found to be part of the subfamily in a 2018 Master's dissertation, which treated it as ''incertae sedis'' as regards subfamily.][ It was not included in the 2018 and 2019 studies which found the subfamily to be monophyletic.][
]
Distribution and habitat
These arboreal
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...
tarantulas are often found dwelling in palm tree
The Arecaceae is a family of perennial flowering plants in the monocot order Arecales. Their growth form can be climbers, shrubs, tree-like and stemless plants, all commonly known as palms. Those having a tree-like form are called palm ...
s native to the West African region.
References
External links
TarantupediaBaboon SpidersTropica
Theraphosidae
Spider subfamilies
{{Theraphosidae-stub