Aphonopelma
| Aphonopelma | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Female Aphonopelma seemanni | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Family: | Theraphosidae |
| Genus: |
Aphonopelma Pocock, 1901 |
| Type species | |
|
Eurypelma seemanni F. O. P.-Cambridge, 1897 |
|
| Species | |
|
See text. |
|
| Diversity | |
| 61–87 species, depending on the source | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Apachepelma Smith, 1995 |
|
See text.
Apachepelma Smith, 1995
Chaunopelma Chamberlin, 1940
Delopelma Petrunkevitch, 1939
Dugesiella Pocock, 1901
Gosipelma Chamberlin, 1940
Rhechostica Simon, 1892
Aphonopelma is a genus of tarantulas, members of which are native to the Americas. It includes nearly all of the North American tarantulas north of Mexico and a considerable part of the tarantulas which range into Central America. About 90 species have been described, but many, if not most, of these are inadequately studied and very little is known about them. Most are large and, like other New World tarantulas, they have urticating hairs. Most are docile in captivity. The taxonomy is poorly understood and species are difficult to tell apart, especially those that are brown or black without other pattern. In captivity they will eat crickets, in the wild they will eat most smaller insects. Most species found in the Southwestern United States have an adult leg span of 4.5 inches (11.5 cm), though some Arizona species have been known, on occasion, to just barely exceed 6 inches (16 cm).
The species pictured is Aphonopelma seemanni or Zebra Tarantula (F. O. P.-Cambridge, 1897), which has striped legs. This species produces silk from spinnerets on the feet as well as in the abdomen.
The genus has a complicated taxonomic history. It was erected in 1901 by Reginald I. Pocock when he split up Eurypelma (now Avicularia), with the type species Eurypelma seemanni. Pocock also separated off the genus Dugesiella. Two more new genera were later distinguished from Aphonopelma: Delopelma by Alexander Petrunkevitch in 1939 and Chaunopelma by Joseph C. Chamberlin in 1940. In 1985, Robert J. Raven reviewed mygalomorph genera and considered the differences among all these genera to be insignificant. He synonymized them under the name Rhechostica, which had been published by Eugène Simon in 1892, so had priority. Since the name Aphonopelma was much better known than Rechostica, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature in 1991 agreed to give Aphonopelma precedence over Rhechostica. In 1995, Smith erected the genus Apachepelma for the species A. paloma; in 1997, Prentice transferred it back to Aphonopelma.
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