20.11.2021

Aphonopelma sp. "Michoacan Morph 1" should be named Aphonopelma sp. "Michoacan"

Some time ago we received from Oly Lenskens three exuviae of the species offered by him as Aphonopelma sp. "Michoacan" (Pic 1), named by him as "Morph 1". Also this time we were asked to make the attempt of species identification. Unlike the recently identified Bonnetina tanzeri, a species identification of the Mexican species of the genus Aphonopelma is very difficult due to the lack of a good revision.

That it is a representative of the genus Aphonopelma is evident from the following combinations of characters (see Hamilton et al. 2016):

• (1) no known external stridulation organs;

• (2) hair-like or spiniform plumose setae on the prolateral surface of the trochanter and femur of leg I and on the retrolateral surface of the coxa and trochanter of the pedipalp;

Pic 2 (coxa I prolateral) and Pic 3 (palpcoxa retrolateral) show the mentioned "hair-like" setae and that no stridulation organ is present.

• (3) type I urticating setae only;

Pic 4 and 5 show that indeed only type 1 urticating setae are present.

• (4) corresponding segments of all legs approximately the same width in females (femur III in males sometimes laterally swollen);

As can be seen from Pic 1, all legs and their leg segments are indeed approximately the same thickness.

• (5) scopula of tarsus IV usually entire, if divided then only partially and narrowly by line of setae;

Pic 6 shows the scopula of tarsus IV. As can be seen, the tarsal scopula is indeed undivided.

• (6) setae on the prolateral surface of coxa I hair-like and not basally swollen, spiniform and basally swollen, or distinctly stout and thorn-like;

Pic 2 clearly shows that the setae on coxa I prolaterally are hair-like only.

Furthermore, the bilobed divided spermathecae speaks for Aphonopelma (Pic 7 - 9).

Resumé:

Unfortunately, this present Aphonopelma cannot be determined up to the species, because no Aphonopelma species from Mexico has been described so far, which shows such a spermathecae shape. Restrictively it is to be stated here, however, that from some species from Mexico the females are not yet described or known. Since no male of the present Aphonopelma species is yet available for comparison with the known species, the actual species membership of these animals remains questionable for the time being and so we plead for keeping these morphotype in general as Aphonopelma sp. "Michoacan" until the taxonomic examination of a male has possibly found out the actual species affiliation.

Reference:

Hamilton, C. A., Hendrixson, B. E. & Bond, J. E. (2016). Taxonomic revision of the tarantula genus Aphonopelma Pocock, 1901 (Araneae, Mygalomorphae, Theraphosidae) within the United States. ZooKeys 560: 1-340.