Reclassifications

[Arachnoclown]

if Avicularia avicularia versicolor is subspecies then what is the other subspecies?

Avicularia versicolor was moved to Caribena versicolor

 

[Stan Schultz]

I’m a little confused (no change there), how can so many of them now simply be classed as Avicularia Avicularia? There are obviously slight differences in them to be classified that way in the first place. So how can they suddenly all be the same spider?

They were always the same spider! It was our messed up naming that was wrong. I can't go into the full story here, but it includes incompetence (too many inexperienced or poorly educated pseudo-researchers), unethical naming practices (grant time'll do that to you!), sexual dimorphism (males and females of the same species given different names), simple human error, and much more.

The present instance is a distinct exception to the common state of affairs where taxonomists determine that two or more species were somehow sharing the same name. So the usual case is that we go from one name to several. That recently happened to the B. smithi/hamorii complex.

For decades and decades there has been a quiet but constant war among taxonomists. Traditionally, there are two groups: the Lumpers and the Splitters. The Lumpers have the inclination that if two specimens or populations seem to look the same (have very similar characteristics) they are the same species, or are so closely related that they might as well pass for the same species. B. smithi/hamorii are an example of this. The Splitters hold the inclination that the two slightly different specimens or populations are in fact two distinct species that are evolving away from each other, and that if we can distinguish them, they are in fact distinct entities and therefore deserve different names. And the whole argument devolves from the fact that taxonomists don't have a very good working definition of what a species really is. Ernst Mayr (a huge name in evolutionary biology and taxonomy) came as close as anyone has ever come to defining a "species," but even his efforts haven't solved the dilemma.

DNA and other chemical means were at one time hoped to be the final answer to the question, but alas, these lines of research seem to have merely given the Splitters more ammunition to justify making evolutionary trees more and more complex (i.e., creating more and more new species names).

There are strong arguments in favor of each of these attitudes, but this post is already getting too long. It's time for me to quit. If this topic really interests you, try googling some of the terms I've used here.

Stan

 

[Stan Schultz]

My all time favorite. I can't wait until my little guy (1.5") looks like this. Maybe about 3 years! At least since the last molt a couple of weeks ago, I'm starting to see the red markings.

Mine is B. emilia, the Mexican redleg. Google those names to see what they look like. Colorful, docile, very hardy,. Females live up to between 35 and 40 years, male 12 to 15 years. Given enough time, they can grow very large - 8" (20 cm) DLS (Diagonal Leg Span). Their only serious drawback is their urticating bristles. I went through a lot of hydrocortisone cream during the 19 years that I had "The Duchess."

By contrast, the Avicularia were a bit jumpy, rather short lived, can be a bit fragile until you learn the proper method for keeping them alive. Still, their lack of functional urticating bristles (theirs don't cause a rash), and their arboreal lifestyle make them a really nice counterpoint to the more traditional, terrestrial kinds of tarantulas.

Stan

 

[Stan Schultz]

My all time favorite. I can't wait until my little guy (1.5") looks like this. Maybe about 3 years! At least since the last molt a couple of weeks ago, I'm starting to see the red markings.

Mine is B. emilia, the Mexican redleg. Google those names to see what they look like. Colorful, docile, very hardy,. Females live up to between 35 and 40 years, male 12 to 15 years. Given enough time, they can grow very large - 8" (20 cm) DLS (Diagonal Leg Span). Their only serious drawback is their urticating bristles. I went through a lot of hydrocortisone cream during the 19 years that I had "The Duchess."

By contrast, the Avicularia are a bit jumpy, rather short lived, can be a bit fragile until you learn the proper method for keeping them alive. Still, their lack of functional urticating bristles (theirs don't cause a rash), and their arboreal lifestyle make them a really nice counterpoint to the more traditional, terrestrial kinds of tarantulas.

Stan

 

[Enn49]

It has just been brought to my attention that Pterinopelma sazimai is now Lasiocyano sazimai

 

[m0lsx]

It has just been brought to my attention that Pterinopelma sazimai is now Lasiocyano sazimai

Thanks for that, we have a couple of those.

 

[Enn49]

Thanks for that, we have a couple of those.

You really have @GarField000 to thank he drew my attention to it.

 

[GarField000]

Many changes (I don't like).
Abstract The genus Lasiodora C. L. Koch, 1850 is revised and morphological cladistic analyses carried out including all of its species, as well as most of those of the related genera Vitalius Lucas, Silva & Bertani, 1993, Nhandu Lucas, 1983, Pterinopelma Po****, 1901, Proshapalopus Mello-Leitão, 1923, Eupalaestrus Po****, 1901, Lasiocyano Galleti-Lima, Hamilton, Borges & Guadanucci, 2023, Parvicarina Galleti-Lima, Hamilton, Borges & Guadanucci, 2023, and Tekoapora Galleti-Lima, Hamilton, Borges & Guadanucci, 2023. A matrix with 50 terminal taxa, 2 continuous and 48 discrete characters was analyzed with TNT 1.5.
The result shows a monophyletic Lasiodora as sister group of Nhandu, and Vitalius is the sister group of this clade.

Lasiodora comprises 7 species: Lasiodora klugi (C. L. Koch, 1841) (type species), L. benedeni Bertkau, 1880, L. parahybana Mello-Leitão, 1917, L. subcanens Mello-Leitão, 1921, L. camurujipe n. sp., L. sertaneja n. sp., and L. franciscana n. sp.
Lasiodora itabunae Mello-Leitão, 1921 is considered a junior synonym of L. klugi.
Lasiodora differens Chamberlin, 1917, L. curtior Chamberlin, 1917, L. mariannae Mello-Leitão, 1921, L. difficilis Mello-Leitão, 1921, L. erythrocythara Mello-Leitão, 1921, and Acanthoscurria cristata Mello-Leitão, 1923 are considered junior synonyms of L. benedeni.
Lasiodora acanthognatha Mello-Leitão, 1921 is considered junior synonym of L. parahybana.
Lasiodora dulcicola Mello-Leitão, 1921 is considered junior synonym of L. subcanens.
Nhandu sylviae Sherwood, Gabriel & Brescovit, 2023 is considered junior synonym of Vitalius sorocabae Mello-Leitão, 1923.
The holotype of Crypsidromus isabellinus Ausserer, 1871 (type species of the genus) was reanalyzed and is considered the senior synonym of Proshapalopus anomalus Mello-Leitão, 1923 (type species of the genus). Thus, the genus Crypsidromus Ausserer, 1871 is considered valid, removed from the synonymy with Lasiodora, and Proshapalopus is considered a junior synonym of Crypsidromus.
The new combination C. multicuspidatus (Mello-Leitão, 1929) n. comb. is established.
Crypsidromus bolivianus Simon, 1892 is considered a junior synonym of Acanthoscurria insubtilis Simon, 1892.

Five species from Costa Rica described in Crypsidromus are transferred back from Lasiodora: Crypsidromus brevibulbusValerio, 1980 comb. rev., C. carinatus Valerio, 1980 comb. rev., C. icecu Valerio, 1980 comb. rev., C. puriscal Valerio, 1980 comb. rev., C. rubitarsus Valerio, 1980 comb. rev.
Lasiodora lakoi Mello-Leitão, 1943 is transferred to Megaphobema, making the new combination Megaphobema lakoi (Mello-Leitão, 1943) n. comb.
Lasiodora spinipes Ausserer, 1871 is transferred to Theraphosa, making the new combination Theraphosa spinipes (Ausserer, 1871) n. comb.
Nhandu chromatus Schmidt, 2004 is transferred to Vitalius making the new combination Vitalius chromatus (Schmidt, 2004) n. comb.
Lasiodora sternalis is transferred to Acanthoscurria making the new combination Acanthoscurria sternalis (Mello-Leitão, 1923). Due to the homonymy with Acanthoscurria sternalis Po****, 1903, the new name Acanthoscurria melloleitaoi nom. nov. is proposed.

The following species are considered nomina dubia: Lasiodora saeva (Walckenaer, 1837), Lasiodora striatipes (Ausserer, 1871), Lasiodora moreni (Holmberg, 1876), Crypsidromus fallax Bertkau, 1880, Trechona pantherina Keyserling, 1891, Lasiodora bahiensis Strand, 1907, Lasiodora citharacantha Mello-Leitão, 1921, Lasiodora cryptostigma Mello-Leitão, 1921, Lasiodora dolichosterna Mello-Leitão, 1921, Lasiodora fracta MelloLeitão, 1921, and Lasiodora pleoplectra Mello-Leitão, 1921.
A discussion on the relationship of Lasiodora, Nhandu, Vitalius, Pterinopelma and Crypsidromus as well maps with the distributions of all Lasiodora species are provided.

Bertani, R. (2023b). Taxonomic revision and cladistic analysis of Lasiodora C. L. Koch, 1850 (Araneae, Theraphosidae) with notes on related genera. Zootaxa 5390(1): 1-116. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5390.1.1

So for me my 3 Nhandu chromatus becomes Vitalius chromatus
my Acanthoscurria sternalis becomes Acanthoscurria melloleitaoi
And I have no idea what happens to my Lasiodora striatipes