Rank Genus Genus Trichopelma; Simon, 1888 | Order Spider | |
Similar Sericopelma, Catumiri, Citharacanthus, Brachionopus, Pseudhapalopus | ||
Trichopelma is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae (tarantulas).
Contents
Taxonomy
The genus Trichopelma was erected by Eugène Simon in 1888, with the type species Trichopelma nitidum; he also described Trichopelma illetabile. A major review of mygalomorph spiders by Robert J. Raven in 1985 led to the genus being greatly enlarged, with Hapalopinus, Leptofischelia, Merothele, Obaerarius and Stothis all included in Trichopelma. Raven placed the expanded genus in the family Barychelidae. In 1994, Raven proposed moving Trichopelma to the related family Theraphosidae, but without any new evidence, so the move was not generally accepted. José P. L. Guadanucci in 2014 carried out a morphological phylogenetic analysis of some mygalomorph genera, including Trichopelma, and concluded that the genus did indeed belong in Theraphosidae, as a member of a re-limited subfamily Ischnocolinae sensu stricto.
Species
As of May 2016, the World Spider Catalog accepted the following species: