Brachypelma
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Brachypelma boehmei |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Brachypelma | ||||||||||||
| Simon , 1891 |
Brachypelma is a Central American genus of 18 ground-dwelling tarantula species (as of April 2017). These tarantula species are usually very colorful and are therefore very popular with terrarium keepers. All representatives of this genus are nowprotectedby CITES Appendix II.
features
Brachypelma species usually have an almost black to yellow-orange body and orange-brown to yellow hair. The legs are often brightly colored brown, orange, red or yellow. The genus is characterized by feather-like hairs on the trochanter and on the underside of the femur.
Occurrence and way of life
Spiders of the genus Brachypelma occur in Central America from the Mexican Pacific and Gulf coast to Costa Rica . They build earthworks in the protection of vegetation or stones, which they close with a plug made of earth and leaves connected with spider silk . A horizontal passage is followed by the molting chamber, from which a vertical passage leads into a feeding and resting chamber.
Moulting takes place at the end of the dry season from June to September. Males reach sexual maturity at seven to eight years of age and rarely live more than a year after the last moult; females can live up to ten more years after reaching sexual maturity at nine to ten years.
Due to their striking colors and the relatively simple keeping, spiders of the genus Brachypelma are popular terrarium animals. Because of the habitat destruction and the very high loss rate of the animals up to sexual maturity, all species of the genus were included in CITES Appendix II. This means that the import and export of the animals must be approved.
Systematics
The genus includes 18 species (as of April 2017). The arachnologist Jan-Peter Rudloff divides them into two groups based on the coloration. They have no further taxonomic characteristics and are therefore not cladistic groups. The Vagans group has similarities with Brachypelma vagans . They have an even, dark to black basic color. The species in the Emilia group have similarities with Brachypelma emilia . They have differently colored body parts and often banded extremities.
The Vagans group includes the following 10 species:
- Brachypelma albopilosum Valerio , 1980; Costa Rica, (German common name: frizzy tarantula )
- Brachypelma aureoceps ( Chamberlin , 1917)
- Brachypelma epicureanum ( Chamberlin , 1925)
- Brachypelma fossorium Valerio , 1980
- Brachypelma kahlenbergi Rudloff , 2008
- Brachypelma sabulosum ( FO Pickard-Cambridge , 1897)
- Brachypelma schroederi Rudloff , 2003
- Brachypelma vagans Ausserer , 1875; Mexico, Central America, (German common name: black and red tarantula )
- Brachypelma verdezi Schmidt , 2003
It is very likely that Aphonopelma baergi also belongs to this group, which is still listed in the World Spider Catalog in the genus Aphonopelma .
The species B. epicureanum , B. kahlenbergi , B. sabulosum , B. vagans can be characterized as tarantulas with a black basic color and longer red hairs on the opisthosoma. As a result, they can easily be confused with one another. For the taxonomic differentiation, therefore, additional criteria still have to be used, such as the shape and appearance of the genitals. The exact location can also provide information on species identification.
Brachypelma vagans
Brachypelma albopilosum
The following seven species belong to the Emilia group:
- Brachypelma auratum Schmidt , 1992; Mexico, (German common name: Red-legged tarantula )
- Brachypelma baumgarteni Smith , 1993
- Brachypelma boehmei Schmidt & Klaas , 1993; Mexico
- Brachypelma emilia White , 1856; Mexico, (German common name: orange-leg tarantula )
- Brachypelma klaasi ( Schmidt & Krause , 1994)
- Brachypelma smithi F. OP-Cambridge , 1897; Mexico, (German common name: Mexican red-knee tarantula )
Brachypelma hamorii actually belongs to this group, although Rudloff disputes its independent species status. He suspects that this is a junior synonym of B. smithi . The species status was confirmed by Mendoza and Francke in 2017.
Brachypelma auratum
Brachypelma boehmei
Brachypelma emilia
Brachypelma klaasi
Brachypelma smithi
The following two types are not classified in groups:
- Brachypelma albiceps Pocock , 1903; Mexico
- Brachypelma andrewi Schmidt , 1992
For B. albiceps , the genus assignment was controversial for a long time because it shows strong similarities to the genus Aphonopelma . It has been listed in the World Spider Catalog again as Brachypelma since 2005 . In B. andrewi the holotype is missing and the origin is unclear, which is why the species status is doubtful.
Web links
Brachypelma in the World Spider Catalog
- Brachypelma at tarantulas.tropica.ru
literature
- A. Locht, M. Yanez and I. Vazquez: Distribution and natural history of Mexican species of Brachypelma and Brachypelmides (Theraphosidae, Theraphosine) with morphological evidence for their synonymy . In: The Journal of Arachnology . tape 27 , 1999, p. 196-200 (English, pdf ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Natural History Museum of the Burgergemeinde Bern: World Spider Catalog Version 17.0 - Brachypelma . Retrieved April 1, 2016.
- ↑ Annexes to the Agreement. cites.org, accessed November 24, 2008 .
- ↑ a b c d Jan-Peter Rudloff: A new Brachypelma species from Mexico, Brachypelma schroederi sp. n. (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Theraphosidae: Theraphosinae). In: Arthropoda 11 (3), 2003: pp. 2-15.
- ↑ a b Jan-Peter Rudloff: A new Brachypelma species from Mexico (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Theraphosidae: Theraphosinae) . In: Arthropoda 16 (2), 2008, pp. 26-30.
- ↑ Mendoza, J. & Francke, O. (2017): Systematic revision of Brachypelma red-kneed tarantulas (Araneae: Theraphosidae), and the use of DNA barcodes to assist in the identification and conservation of CITES-listed species. Invertebrate Systematics, 31, pp. 157-179.