Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus
| Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus | ||||||||||||
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| Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus | ||||||||||||
| Pocock , 1903 |
Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus is a tree-dwelling tarantula from Ecuador . It was described in 1903 by Reginald Innes Pocock . The holotype comes from the area around the Rio Sapayo Grande in the province of Esmeraldas . The species name may refer to the book Jesus Sirach or it is an allusion to the genus name Psalmopoeus . This means in German "psalm poet". The spider literally means “ecclesiastical psalmist”. Little is known about the way of life of the species. In addition to the first description, there is only one other scientific mention in 2006.
features
The male becomes about 3.5 centimeters long (from the biting claws to the spinnerets ). The carapace of the male is a little longer than it is wide. The length corresponds approximately to that of the tibia of the second pair of legs or approximately half the length of the buttons. The stridulation organs on the maxillae (gnathocoxes) consist of about twelve thick, dark thorns that are only a little removed from the oral fringes. As a counterpart, there are a few strong, bristle-like thorns on the inner side of the bite claws. On the carapace there is a thick, olive-yellow hair with a silky sheen. Similar hairs can be found on the upper side of the basal limbs of the walking legs and buttons as well as on the tips of the bite claws. The predominant color of the extremities is mouse brown. The legs have thick fringes. The top of the opisthosoma is gray in color with longer, protruding, dark brown bristles. The underside is velvety black to sooty in color. The scopulae are olive gray.
The female becomes larger than the male and reaches a body length of about four centimeters. Compared to the male, it is more powerful and robust. The limbs of the running legs are shorter than in the male.
Individuals of both sexes can be distinguished from the related species Psalmopoeus cambridgei by the stridulation bristles on the buttons. The thorns of P. ecclesiasticus sit close to the hem, are short, and only about twelve in number. P. cambridgei has a few more thorns and they are longer and arranged in curved lines clearly away from the edge. The male of P. ecclesiasticus has longer legs and the bulbs are less spherical and the embolus is somewhat longer than that of the male of the related species. The male of P. cambridgei , on the other hand, has a longer carapace.
Web links
Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus in the World Spider Catalog
Individual evidence
- ↑ Natural History Museum of the Burgergemeinde Bern: World Spider Catalog Version 15.5 - Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus . Retrieved September 5, 2014.
- ^ A b c Reginald Innes Pocock: On Some Genera and Species of South American Aviculariidae. In: Annals and Magazine of Natural History, including Zoology, Botany, and Geology, 1903, Ser.7, vol.Xl, pp. 81-115 [1]