''Aphonopelma'' is a

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 ...

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 native to the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

. It includes nearly all the North American tarantula species north of Mexico and a considerable percentage of the tarantula species that range into Central America. Most are fairly large tarantulas with leg spans of 6 in (16 cm) or more. Like most New World tarantulas, all species of ''Aphonopelma'' have

urticating hair Urticating hairs or urticating bristles are one of the primary defense mechanisms used by numerous plants, almost all New World tarantulas, and various lepidopteran caterpillars. ''Urtica'' is Latin for "nettle" (stinging nettles are in the genu ...

s. Despite their fearsome appearance, these tarantulas are not harmful to humans and some species are popular in the pet trade. With about 90 species described so far, ''Aphonopelma'' comprises about 10% of the total number of described tarantula species. However, their

taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...

is poorly understood and species are difficult to tell apart, especially those that are brown or black without other pattern. Therefore, the actual number of species is unknown, with more species likely to be identified in the near future. In captivity, they are usually fed

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

s; in the wild, they eat most insects, including crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches, mantises, and beetles.

Taxonomy

The genus has a complicated taxonomic history. It was erected in 1901 by Reginald I. Pocock, when he split up ''Eurypelma'' (now ''

Avicularia ''Avicularia'' is a genus of the Family (biology), family Theraphosidae containing various species of arboreal tarantulas. The genus is native to Panama, the Caribbean, and tropical South America. Each species in the genus has very distinguishab ...

''), with the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

'' Eurypelma seemanni''. Pocock also separated off the genus ''Dugesiella''. Two more new genera were later distinguished from ''Aphonopelma'': ''Delopelma'' by

Alexander Petrunkevitch Alexander Ivanovitch Petrunkevitch (; December 22, 1875 – March 9, 1964) was a Russian arachnologist. From 1910 to 1939, he described over 130 spider species. One of his most famous essays was "The Spider and the Wasp." In it he uses effective ...

in 1939 and ''Chaunopelma'' by Joseph C. Chamberlin in 1940. In 1985, Robert J. Raven reviewed mygalomorph genera and considered the differences among all these genera to be insignificant. He synonymized them under the name ''Rhechostica'', which had been published by

Eugène Simon Eugène Louis Simon (; 30 April 1848 – 17 November 1924) was a French naturalist who worked particularly on insects and spiders, but also on birds and plants. He is by far the most prolific spider Taxonomy (biology), taxonomist in history, ...

in 1892, so had priority. Since the name ''Aphonopelma'' was much better known than ''Rechostica'', the

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries. Orga ...

in 1991 agreed to give ''Aphonopelma'' precedence over ''Rhechostica''. In 1995, Smith erected the genus ''Apachepelma'' for the species '' A. paloma''; in 1997, Prentice transferred it back to ''Aphonopelma''. California ebony tarantula

Phylogeny

Molecular phylogenetic studies suggest that the genus is not

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

. Two groups of species are apparent: one from Central America, including the type species ''A. seemanni'' from Costa Rica, and another made up of species found in the United States. The relationship between the two groups and the genus ''

Sericopelma ''Sericopelma'' is a genus of tarantula (family Theraphosidae), found in Central America from Nicaragua to Panama. The limits of the genus and its distribution have long been confused; it is closely related to the genus ''Aphonopelma''. ''Serico ...

'' is shown in the cladogram below. With further research, a new genus may be needed for the American group of species.

Species

, the

World Spider Catalog The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...

accepted 54 species. A monograph of the genus within the United States, published in 2016, made some major revisions. Only 15 of the original 55 U.S. species were fully accepted, 33 were reduced to

synonyms A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

, and seven to''

nomina dubia In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium,'' it may be impossible to determine whether a ...

'' (doubtful names). A further 14 new U.S. species were then described. *''

Aphonopelma anax ''Aphonopelma anax'', commonly known as the Texas tan tarantula, is a species of spider belonging to the family Theraphosidae native to southern Texas and northern Mexico. Description The species is one of the largest tarantulas found in the U ...

'' (Chamberlin, 1940) –

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

*''

Aphonopelma armada ''Aphonopelma armada'' is a species of spider in the family Theraphosidae 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 "tarantul ...

'' (Chamberlin, 1940) –

*''

Aphonopelma atomicum ''Aphonopelma atomicum'' is a species of spiders in the family Theraphosidae, found in United States (California, Nevada). Like many New World tarantulas, they flick urticating hair Urticating hairs or urticating bristles are one of the primar ...

'' Hamilton, 2016 –

*''

Aphonopelma bacadehuachi ''Aphonopelma'' is a genus of tarantulas native to the Americas. It includes nearly all the North American tarantula species north of Mexico and a considerable percentage of the tarantula species that range into Central America. Most are fairly ...

'' Hendrixson, 2019 –

*''

Aphonopelma belindae ''Aphonopelma'' is a genus of tarantulas native to the Americas. It includes nearly all the North American tarantula species north of Mexico and a considerable percentage of the tarantula species that range into Central America. Most are fairly ...

'' Gabriel, 2011 –

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

*''

Aphonopelma bicoloratum ''Aphonopelma bicoloratum'' (also known as Mexican blood leg), is a species of tarantula found in Mexico.. As its common name aptly states it is found in Mexico, and was first described by Ronny Struchen, D. Brändle and Gunter Schmidt in 1996. I ...

'' Struchen, Brändle & Schmidt, 1996 –

*'' Aphonopelma burica'' Valerio, 1980 –

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

*'' Aphonopelma caniceps'' (Simon, 1891) –

*'' Aphonopelma catalina'' Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 –

*'' Aphonopelma chalcodes'' Chamberlin, 1940 –

*'' Aphonopelma chiricahua'' Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 –

*'' Aphonopelma cookei'' Smith, 1995 –

*'' Aphonopelma crinirufum'' (Valerio, 1980) –

*'' Aphonopelma eustathes'' (Chamberlin, 1940) –

*'' Aphonopelma eutylenum'' Chamberlin, 1940 –

*'' Aphonopelma gabeli'' Smith, 1995 –

*'' Aphonopelma geotoma'' (Chamberlin, 1937) –

*'' Aphonopelma gertschi'' Smith, 1995 –

*'' Aphonopelma griseum'' Chamberlin, 1940 –

*'' Aphonopelma hageni'' (Strand, 1906) –

*'' Aphonopelma helluo'' (Simon, 1891) –

*'' Aphonopelma hentzi'' (Girard, 1852) –

*'' Aphonopelma hesperum'' (Chamberlin, 1917) –

*'' Aphonopelma icenoglei'' Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 –

*'' Aphonopelma iodius'' (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1939) –

*'' Aphonopelma johnnycashi'' Hamilton, 2016 –

*'' Aphonopelma joshua'' Prentice, 1997 –

*'' Aphonopelma levii'' Smith, 1995 –

*'' Aphonopelma madera'' Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 –

*'' Aphonopelma mareki'' Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 –

*'' Aphonopelma marxi'' (Simon, 1891) –

*'' Aphonopelma moderatum'' (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1939) –

*'' Aphonopelma moellendorfi'' Hamilton, 2016 –

*'' Aphonopelma mojave'' Prentice, 1997 –

*'' Aphonopelma mooreae'' Smith, 1995 –

*'' Aphonopelma nayaritum'' Chamberlin, 1940 –

*'' Aphonopelma pallidum'' (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897) –

*''

Aphonopelma paloma ''Aphonopelma paloma'', or the Paloma dwarf, is a species of spider belonging to the family Theraphosidae. Distribution and habitat The Paloma dwarf can be found in Southern Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern Uni ...

'' Prentice, 1993 –

*'' Aphonopelma parvum'' Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 –

*'' Aphonopelma peloncillo'' Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 –

*'' Aphonopelma phasmus'' Chamberlin, 1940 –

*'' Aphonopelma platnicki'' Smith, 1995 –

*'' Aphonopelma prenticei'' Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 –

*'' Aphonopelma prosoicum'' Chamberlin, 1940 –

*'' Aphonopelma ruedanum'' Chamberlin, 1940 –

*'' Aphonopelma saguaro'' Hamilton, 2016 –

*'' Aphonopelma sclerothrix'' (Valerio, 1980) –

*''

Aphonopelma seemanni ''Aphonopelma seemanni'', the Costa Rican zebra tarantula, also known as the striped-knee tarantula, is a species of tarantula inhabiting most of western Costa Rica and other parts of Central America, such as Honduras and Nicaragua, and possibly ...

'' (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897) (

) –

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

*'' Aphonopelma steindachneri'' (Ausserer, 1875) –

*''

Aphonopelma superstitionense ''Aphonopelma superstitionense'' is a species of spiders in the family Theraphosidae, found in United States (Arizona and New Mexico). References

Aphonopelma, superstitionense Spiders described in 2016 Spiders of the United States {{Th ...

'' Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 –

*'' Aphonopelma truncatum'' (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897) –

*'' Aphonopelma vorhiesi'' (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1939) –

*''

Aphonopelma xanthochromum ''Aphonopelma'' is a genus of tarantulas native to the Americas. It includes nearly all the North American tarantula species north of Mexico and a considerable percentage of the tarantula species that range into Central America. Most are fairly ...

'' (Valerio, 1980) –

*'' Aphonopelma xwalxwal'' Hamilton, 2016 –

*'' Aphonopelma anitahoffmannae'' Locht, Medina, Rojo & Vázquez, 2005 *''

Aphonopelma latens ''Aphonopelma'' is a genus of tarantulas native to the Americas. It includes nearly all the North American tarantula species north of Mexico and a considerable percentage of the tarantula species that range into Central America. Most are fairly ...

'' (Chamberlin, 1917) *'' Aphonopelma crinitum'' (Pocock, 1901) *''

Aphonopelma duplex ''Aphonopelma'' is a genus of tarantulas native to the Americas. It includes nearly all the North American tarantula species north of Mexico and a considerable percentage of the tarantula species that range into Central America. Most are fairly ...

'' (Chamberlin, 1925)

In synonymy

Nomina dubia In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium,'' it may be impossible to determine whether a ...

*'' Aphonopelma anitahoffmannae'' Locht, Medina, Rojo & Vázquez, 2005 *''

'' (Chamberlin, 1925) *'' Aphonopelma serratum'' (Simon, 1891)

Species transferred to other genera

Species names rejected in the 2016 monograph include

*''Aphonopelma apacheum'' Chamberlin, 1940 = ''A. chalcodes'' *''Aphonopelma arnoldi'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. armada'' *''Aphonopelma baergi'' Chamberlin, 1940, '' nom. dub.'' *''Aphonopelma behlei'' Chamberlin, 1940 = ''A. marxi'' *''Aphonopelma breenei'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. anax'' *''Aphonopelma brunnius'' Chamberlin, 1940 = ''A. iodius'' *''Aphonopelma chambersi'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. eutylenum'' *'' Aphonopelma chamberlini'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. iodius'' *''Aphonopelma clarki'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. hentzi'' *''Aphonopelma clarum'' Chamberlin, 1940 = ''A. eutylenum'' *''Aphonopelma coloradanum'' (Chamberlin, 1940) = ''A. hentzi'' *''Aphonopelma cratium'' Chamberlin, 1940, ''nom. dub.'' *''Aphonopelma cryptethum'' Chamberlin, 1940 = ''A. eutylenum'' *''Aphonopelma echinum'' (Chamberlin, 1940) = ''A. hentzi'' *''Aphonopelma gurleyi'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. hentzi'' *''Aphonopelma harlingenum'' (Chamberlin, 1940) = ''A. hentzi'' *''Aphonopelma heterops'' Chamberlin, 1940 = ''A. moderatum'' *''Aphonopelma iviei'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. iodius'' *''Aphonopelma jungi'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. vorhiesi'' *''Aphonopelma lithodomum'' Chamberlin, 1940 = ''A. iodius'' *''Aphonopelma minchi'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. chalcodes'' *''Aphonopelma mordax'' (Ausserer, 1871), ''nom. dub.'' *''Aphonopelma odelli'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. hentzi'' *''Aphonopelma phanum'' Chamberlin, 1940 = ''A. steindachneri'' *''Aphonopelma punzoi'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. vorhiesi'' *''Aphonopelma radinum'' (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1939), ''nom. dub.'' *''Aphonopelma reversum'' Chamberlin, 1940 = ''A. steindachneri'' *''Aphonopelma rothi'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. chalcodes'' *''Aphonopelma rusticum'' (Simon, 1891), ''nom. dub.'' *''Aphonopelma sandersoni'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. eutylenum'' *''Aphonopelma schmidti'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. chalcodes'' *''Aphonopelma smithi'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. iodius'' *''Aphonopelma stahnkei'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. chalcodes'' *''Aphonopelma texense'' (Simon, 1891), ''nom. dub.'' *''Aphonopelma vogelae'' Smith, 1995 = ''A. marxi'' *''Aphonopelma waconum'' (Chamberlin, 1940) = ''A. hentzi'' *''Aphonopelma wichitanum'' (Chamberlin, 1940) = ''A. hentzi'' *''Aphonopelma zionis'' Chamberlin, 1940 = ''A. iodius''

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q137594 Spiders of North America Spiders of Central America Theraphosidae genera Taxa named by R. I. Pocock