18.02.2022

Theraphosinae sp. "Panama" = Davus sp. "Panama"

For many years now, a very attractively colored tarantula species from Panama has been kept in the community under the name "Theraphosinae sp. Panama" and was sold under this name on several dealer websites (Pic 1). As in the case of Theraphosinae sp. "Cusco" and Theraphosinae sp. "Piura", which are clearly and easily identifiable as Thrixopelma, it made us wonder why this species had not been classified at least up to genus level.

Our dear friend and colleague Andreas Stirm send us a preserved pair of this species for examination and identification from two different localities within Panama.

The first thing which is very distinct in this "Theraphosinae sp. Panama" is the stripe pattern on both sides of the opisthosoma, which is typical for the Genus Davus. The shape of the spermathecae of the females from the two localities (Pic 2: locality A & Pic 3: locality B) also showed great similarities to the genus Davus due to their central single receptaculum. The structural difference between the two spermathecae also lies in the range of variation of the spermathecae that are known in this genus [see Candia-Ramírez, D. T. & Francke, O. F. (2021)].

When examining the bulbs, a clear apical keel (A) (Pic 4 - 6: locality A; Pic 7 - 9: locality B) could be found, which is, according to Gabriel (2016), typical for this genus. In general, the structure of the bulbs shown here is very similar to that of the known Davus species. For comparison, see the bulbs of Davus santos, a species that also comes from Panama and was found not far from locality A and B (Pic 10 & 11). Although Davus santos probably lives sympatric with the present Davus Species, this "Theraphosinae sp. Panama" clearly does not belong to Davus santos, as our colleague and Theraphosinae Specialist Steffen Esche also pointed out to us some time ago.

Finally, only Type III urticating hairs could be found in this present species (Pic 12), which also speaks for Davus.

Resumé:

The tarantula, known in the community as "Theraphosinae sp. Panama" is obviously a Davus species. It is very likely that it is a still undescribed tarantula species. We therefore propose that this species, pending its scientific description, should be correctly named as Davus sp. "Panama".

Reference:

Candia-Ramírez, D. T. & Francke, O. F. (2021). Another stripe on the tiger makes no difference? Unexpected diversity in the widespread tiger tarantula Davus pentaloris (Araneae: Theraphosidae: Theraphosinae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 192(1): 75-104.

Gabriel, R. (2016). Revised taxonomic placement of the species in the Central American genera Davus O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1892, Metriopelma Becker, 1878, and Schizopelma F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897, with comments on species in related genera (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Arachnology 17(2): 61-92