27.04.2023
Neischnocolus sp. "Chica" is Neischnocolus panamanus Petrunkevitch, 1925

Since a long time there is a small tarantula species in the tarantula community named Neischnocolus sp. "Chica". We had the opportunity to examine males and females of this species and found out that it is most likely Neischnocolus panamanus. This species was described by the Russian arachnologist Alexander Petrunkevitch in 1925 as Neischnocolus panamanus from Panama (Cerro Iglesias). Later authors, probably unaware of Petrunkevitch's specimen, also described this species as Eurypelma parvior and as Ami bladesi. By the publication of Pérez-Miles et al. 2019, these species were then synonymized with Neischnocolus panamanus after the authors examined the holotypes of the three putative species and found that they were the same species in all three cases. The males and females of Neischnocolus sp. "Chica" that we examined show high similarity in the important taxonomic characters to the sexes listed in the taxonomic descriptions in the World Spider Catalogue. The spermatheca of the present female (Pic 1) is highly similar to that image of the spermatheca of N. panamanus from the work of Pérez-Miles et al. (2019) (Pic 2). Also, the examined male has a high similarity of its taxonomically important identification characters and in its appearance (Pic 3) with the illustrations for the male of Neischnocolus panamanus in Pérez-Miles et. al. 2008 (there still named as Ami bladesi) and Pérez-Miles et al. 2019. The tibial apophysis (Pic 4) and the structure of the two apophyses on the palptibia apically (Pic 5) are nearly identical in structure and shape to the illustrations for these structures in the paper by Pérez-Miles et al. 2008 (Pic 6 & 7). The structure of the bulbs in the male examined in prolateral (Pic 8) and retrolateral position (Pic 9) also matches the illustrations to the bulbs in prolateral and retrolateral position (Pic 10) in Pérez-Miles et al. 2008, especially with respect to the extension of the prolateral keels PI, PS and PAC. When magnified, the PI shows an unusual structure that would sometimes be so called "serrated," but it is not an arrangement of regular serration, but rather a very irregular and disordered structure that may have resulted from damage to the PI. But from related species a serration of the prolateral keels is also known (for example in Neischnocolus yupanquii or see the report by Steffen Esche in Facebook). The unusual structure of the urticating hairs type 1/subtype d (see Kaderka et al 2019) with their much longer area "C 2" in comparison to area "B" and "C1" (Pic 11), which is a diagnostic character for this genus, speaks for the classification in the genus Neischnocolus.

Resumè:

The species of tarantula from Panama, known in the Tarantula Comunnity as Neischnocolus sp. "Chica", could be classified as the species Neischnocolus panamanus Petrunkevitch 1925 after examining males and females of this form and comparing them with the literature references in the World Spider Catalog. The genital morphology of the female and male specimens is structurally nearly identical with the illustrations and data for this species given in Pérez-Miles et al. 2008 and Pérez-Miles et al. 2019, and is significantly different from the known taxonomic features and genital morphological structures of other Neischnocolus species.

Reference:

Kaderka, R., Bulantová, J., Heneberg, P. & Řezáč, M. (2019). Urticating setae of tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae): morphology, revision of typology and terminology and implications for taxonomy. PLoS One 14(11, e0224384): 1-43. 

Pérez-Miles, F., Gabriel, R., Miglio, L., Bonaldo, A., Gallon, R., Jimenez, J. J. & Bertani, R. (2008). Ami, a new theraphosid genus from Central and South America, with the description of six new species (Araneae: Mygalomorphae). Zootaxa 1915: 54-68.

Pérez-Miles, F., Gabriel, R. & Sherwood, D. (2019). Neischnocolus Petrunkevitch, 1925, senior synonym of Ami Pérez-Miles, 2008 and Barropelma Chamberlin, 1940 (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Arachnology 18(2): 150-155.