''Tmesiphantes yupanqui'' is a species of

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 ...

in the 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'' * '' ...

of 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 is endemic to

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 ...

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 2014 as ''Melloleitaoina yupanqui''. The specific name ''yupanqui'' is in honour of

Atahualpa Yupanqui Atahualpa Yupanqui (; born Héctor Roberto Chavero Aramburu; 31 January 1908 – 23 May 1992) was an Argentine- Spanish singer, songwriter, guitarist, and writer. He is considered one of the most important Argentine folk musicians of the 20th cen ...

, a famous musician and a synonym of Héctor Aramburu. In 2019, it was transferred to the genus ''

Tmesiphantes ''Tmesiphantes'' is a genus of Brazilian Theraphosidae, tarantulas in the subfamily Theraphosinae that was first described by Eugène Simon, Eugène Louis Simon in 1892. The genera ''Magulla'' and ''Melloleitaoina'' were brought into Synonym (ta ...

''.

Characteristics

''Tmesiphantes yupanqui'' has a very curved

embolus An embolus (; : emboli; from the Greek ἔμβολος "wedge", "plug") is an unattached mass that travels through the circulatory system, bloodstream and is capable of creating blockages. When an embolus Vascular occlusion, occludes a blood vess ...

with no triangular spine, and a discontinued prolateral superior keel (still on the embolus) which separates into two keels. The female

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 are short and with large granules.

References

Theraphosidae Spiders of Argentina Spiders described in 2014 {{Theraphosidae-stub