''Neischnocolus'' 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 ...

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

s 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 "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although ...

. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

of ''Neischnocolus''. Species are native to Central America and northern South America.

Description

The carapace (upper surface of the

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

) is light to dark brown and hairy. The legs are also hairy, with spines except on the femora. There are no

stridulatory Stridulation is the act of producing sound by rubbing together certain body parts. This behavior is mostly associated with insects, but other animals are known to do this as well, such as a number of species of fish, snakes and spiders. The mech ...

bristles. ''Neischnocolus'' species have modified Type I

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 on the abdomen, similar to those of ''

Proshapalopus ''Crypsidromus'' is a genus of tarantulas. It was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871. Species it contains eight species: * ''Crypsidromus brevibulbus'' Valerio, 1980 — Costa Rica * ''Crypsidromus carinatus'' Valerio, 1980 — Costa ...

'' and '' Citharacanthus livingstoni''. Males differ from other theraphosids in having one or two more-or-less conical processes on the rear-facing (retrolateral) surface of the tibia of the

pedipalp Pedipalps (commonly shortened to palps or palpi) are the secondary pair of forward appendages among Chelicerata, chelicerates – a group of arthropods including spiders, scorpions, horseshoe crabs, and sea spiders. The pedipalps are lateral to ...

; the pear-shaped

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 ...

is also different from other theraphosids, having somewhat convergent "keels" on the forward-facing (prolateral) surface. Females have very distinctive

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 ...

e, with paired receptacles attached to a "back-plate". The body lengths of the species range from about . Males generally have longer legs than females; for example the longest leg (the fourth) of a female ''N. caxiuana'' was long and that of a male long.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Ami'' was erected in 2008 by

Fernando Pérez-Miles Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, and former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa and Asia (like the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka). It is e ...

; the name is based on a word in the

Tupí Tupí, also known as ''formatge de tupí'', is a fermented cheese of a certain area of the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees made from cows' or sheep's milk. It is a cheese traditionally prepared in the mountainous Pallars region, as well as in the Cerdan ...

language, meaning "spider that does not spin a web". Initially six new species were placed in the genus, and ''Avicularia obscura'' was transferred to it. ''Ami'' seemed to be more closely related to the genus ''

'' than to other genera of the large subfamily

Theraphosinae The Theraphosinae are a large subfamily of Mygalomorphae spiders in the family Theraphosidae found primarily in the Neotropical realm. Genera The subfamily Theraphosinae includes these genera: * '' Abdomegaphobema'' * '' Acanthoscurria'' * '' ...

. It is also similar to the small brownish genera ''

Cyclosternum ''Cyclosternum'' is a genus of Theraphosidae, tarantulas that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871. Species it contains twelve species, found in South America, Costa Rica, and Mexico: *''Cyclosternum darienense'' Gabriel & Sherwood, 20 ...

'' and ''

Reversopelma ''Reversopelma'' is a monotypic genus of spider in the family Theraphosidae. It is Theraphosine and is native to Peru and Ecuador. The single species is ''Reversopelma petersi''. Description ''Reversopelma'' shows strong sexual dimorphism, the ...

''. The six new species were ''A. caxiuana'', named after the type locality, which means "place of many snakes" in Tupí; ''A. yupanquii'', named after the

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

leader

Tupac Yupanqui Topa Inca Yupanqui or Túpac Inca Yupanqui (), also Topa Inga Yupangui, erroneously translated as "noble Inca accountant" (before 14711493) was the tenth Sapa Inca (1471–1493) of the Inca Empire, fifth of the Hanan dynasty. His father was Pach ...

, who unified the agricultural populations of Ecuador; ''A. bladesi'' named in honor of Panamanian singer and composer

Ruben Blades Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Reuvein in Yiddish or as an English variant spelling on th ...

; ''A. pijaos'', honoring the

Pijao The Pijao (also Piajao, Pixao, Pinao) are an indigenous people from Colombia. Ethnography The Pijao or Pijaos formed a loose federation of anthropophagous Amerindians and were living in the present-day department of Tolima, Colombia. In p ...

s, an ancient culture that populated the region of the type locality; ''A. amazonica'', referring to the Colombian Amazonic region; and ''A. weinmanni'', named after Dirk Weinmann, the collector of the type specimens. In 2019, Pérez-Miles and co-workers discovered that ''Ami bladesi'' was identical to the earlier described ''Neischnocolus panamanus'' Petrunkevitch, 1925, whose

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

had been rediscovered. Accordingly, ''Ami'' was considered to be a

of ''Neischnocolus'', and all the species were transferred to that genus.

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 the following species: *''

Neischnocolus amazonica ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a junior synonym of ''Neischnocolus''. Specie ...

'' (Jimenez & Bertani, 2008) (syn. ''Ami amazonica'') – Colombia *''

Neischnocolus armihuariensis ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a junior synonym of ''Neischnocolus''. Specie ...

'' (Kaderka, 2014) (syn. ''Ami armihuariensis'') – Peru *''

Neischnocolus caxiuana ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a junior synonym of ''Neischnocolus''. Specie ...

'' (Pérez-Miles, Miglio & Bonaldo, 2008) (syn. ''Ami caxiuana'') – Brazil *''

Neischnocolus iquitos ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Tarantula, Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a Synonym (taxonomy)#Zoology, juni ...

'' Kaderka, 2020 – Peru *''

Neischnocolus obscurus ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a junior synonym of ''Neischnocolus''. Specie ...

'' (Ausserer, 1875) (syn. ''Ami obscura'') – Colombia *''

Neischnocolus panamanus ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a junior synonym of ''Neischnocolus''. Specie ...

'' Petrunkevitch, 1925 (

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 ...

) (syns. ''Ami bladesi'', ''Barropelma parvior'') – Costa Rica, Panama *''

Neischnocolus pijaos ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a junior synonym of ''Neischnocolus''. Specie ...

'' (Jimenez & Bertani, 2008) (syn. ''Ami pijaos'') – Colombia *''

Neischnocolus valentinae ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a junior synonym of ''Neischnocolus''. Specie ...

'' (Almeida, Salvatierra & de Morais, 2019) (syn. ''Ami valentinae'') – Brazil *'' Neischnocolus weinmanni'' (Pérez-Miles, 2008) (syn. ''Ami weinmanni'') – Venezuela *''

Neischnocolus yupanquii ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a junior synonym of ''Neischnocolus''. Specie ...

'' (Pérez-Miles, Gabriel & Gallon, 2008) (syn. ''Ami yupanquii'') – Ecuador *'' Neischnocolus cisnerosi'' Peñaherrera-R., Guerrero-Campoverde, León-E., Pinos-Sánchez & Falcón-Reibán, 2023 *'' Neischnocolus tsere'' Peñaherrera-R., Guerrero-Campoverde, León-E., Pinos-Sánchez & Falcón-Reibán, 2023

Notes

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q27464925, from2=Q2445120, from3=Q27464907 Theraphosidae Theraphosidae genera