''Plesiopelma paganoi'' is a

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 ...

in the ''

Plesiopelma ''Plesiopelma'' is a genus of South American Theraphosidae, tarantulas that was first described by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1901. ''Plesiopelma'' species are particularly abundant along mountainous ranges, frequently living under stones. Both male ...

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 ...

, this tarantula was first described by Nelson Ferretti and Jorge Barneche in 2014. It is named in honor of Luis G. Pagano, Argentinean

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

who helped to collect this species. It is found in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, in the

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Salta Province, the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the List of cities in Argentina, 7th most-populous ...

province, next to the south

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

border.

Description

''Plesiopelma paganoi'' differs from most of the ''Plesiopelma'' genus, except from '' P. insulare'', by the high number of labial and maxillary cuspules and absence of spiniform hairs on the retrolateral face of cymbium. It differs from it because the shape of 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 ...

, which is a slender shape, shorter with a strongly curved embolus. Its

carapace A carapace is a dorsal (upper) section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods, such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates, such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the unde ...

and legs are dorsally black with whitish hairs on

border, and the abdomen is dorsally black with reddish setae.

Habitat

''Plesiopelma paganoi'' was found only in the

Yungas The Yungas ( Aymara ''yunka'' warm or temperate Andes or earth, Quechua ''yunka'' warm area on the slopes of the Andes) is a bioregion of a narrow band of forest along the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains from Peru and Bolivia, and extends i ...

eco-region in high cloud forest areas. A juvenile was found at the piedmont jungle in the tiny crevices underneath decomposing logs a

microhabitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

shared with specimens of a species of ''

Acanthoscurria ''Acanthoscurria'' is a genus of tarantulas that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871. They are found throughout South America including the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname ...

.'' Another juvenile was found between shrubs next to a dry river and a path. The piedmont jungle is found above the sea level, this jungle having a vast arrays of valleys, plains and hills, and is home to many unique species.

References

{{taxonbar, from=Q21304090 Theraphosidae Endemic fauna of Argentina Spiders described in 2014 Spiders of Argentina