''Anqasha'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian

tarantula Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,100 species have been identified, with 166 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

s, containing one species, ''Anqasha picta'', first described by Danniella Sherwood and Ray Gabriel in 2022. The type species was initially described under the name ''Hapalopus pictus'' in 1903 by

Reginald Innes Pocock Reginald Innes Pocock, (4 March 1863 – 9 August 1947) was a British zoologist. Pocock was born in Clifton, Bristol, the fourth son of Rev. Nicholas Pocock and Edith Prichard. He began showing interest in natural history at St. Edward's ...

, but was later moved to the ''

Homoeomma ''Homoeomma'' (''eyelike'', from Ancient Greek ὅμοιος, ''like'', and ὄμμα, ''eye'') is a genus of South American tarantulas that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871. It is considered a senior synonym of ''Calopelma'', ''But ...

'' genus, until finally becoming ''Anqasha''. Its name comes from the

Quechuan Quechua (, ), also called (, 'people's language') in Southern Quechua, is an indigenous language family that originated in central Peru and thereafter spread to other countries of the Andes. Derived from a common ancestral " Proto-Quechua" l ...

word for blue, "anqash".

Description

Preserved in alcohol its coloration is brown, with a faded black patterning in the dorsal and lateral areas of the

opisthosoma The opisthosoma is the posterior part of the body in some arthropods, behind the prosoma ( cephalothorax). It is a distinctive feature of the subphylum Chelicerata (arachnids, horseshoe crabs and others). Although it is similar in most respects ...

. Though in living populations both color and pattern may differ slightly, as long term immersion in alcohol may cause fading.

Diagnosis

They can be distinguished from all other similar species and genera by the

palpal bulb The two palpal bulbs – also known as palpal organs and genital bulbs – are the copulatory organs of a male spider. They are borne on the last segment of the pedipalps (the front "limbs" of a spider), giving the spider an appearance often descr ...

and

spermatheca The spermatheca (pronounced : spermathecae ), also called ''receptaculum seminis'' (: ''receptacula seminis''), is an organ of the female reproductive tract in insects, e.g. ants, bees, some molluscs, Oligochaeta worms and certain other in ...

shape and the black banding on the dorsal and lateral

Habitat

They are found in

Cordillera Blanca The Cordillera Blanca (Spanish for "white range") is a mountain range in Peru that is part of the larger Andes range and extends for between 8°08' and 9°58'S and 77°00' and 77°52'W, in a northwesterly direction. It includes several peaks ove ...

, which has a tropical savanah climate the average temperature of this area is 11 °C, with average yearly rainfall of roughly 2400 mm. It is home to plants such as the Kalua kalua, Quenual, and Atasuku. Animals such as the Pichuychanka, the

Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua language, Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. One species, the And ...

and the Comadreja.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q112767260, from2=Q112767274 Theraphosidae Taxa described in 2022 Spiders of South America Monotypic Theraphosidae genera