''Neischnocolus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s in the family Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a

junior synonym The Botanical and Zoological Codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. * In botanical nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that applies to a taxon that (now) goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linna ...

of ''Neischnocolus''. Species are native to Central America and northern South America.

Description

The carapace (upper surface of the

cephalothorax The cephalothorax, also called prosoma in some groups, is a tagma of various arthropods, comprising the head and the thorax fused together, as distinct from the abdomen behind. (The terms ''prosoma'' and ''opisthosoma'' are equivalent to ''cepha ...

) is light to dark brown and hairy. The legs are also hairy, with spines except on the femora. There are no

stridulatory Stridulation is the act of producing sound by rubbing together certain body parts. This behavior is mostly associated with insects, but other animals are known to do this as well, such as a number of species of fish, snakes and spiders. The mech ...

bristles. ''Neischnocolus'' species have modified Type I urticating hairs on the abdomen, similar to those of ''

Proshapalopus ''Proshapalopus'' is a genus of South American tarantulas that was first described by Cândido Firmino de Mello-Leitão in 1923. Species it contains four species, found in Colombia and Brazil: *'' Proshapalopus amazonicus'' Bertani, 2001 – ...

'' and ''

Citharacanthus livingstoni ''Citharacanthus livingstoni'' is a species of New World tarantula (family Theraphosidae). It is native to eastern Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in ...

''. Males differ from other theraphosids in having one or two more-or-less conical processes on the rear-facing (retrolateral) surface of the tibia of the pedipalp; the pear-shaped

palpal bulb The two palpal bulbs – also known as palpal organs and genital bulbs – are the copulatory organs of a male spider. They are borne on the last segment of the pedipalps (the front "limbs" of a spider), giving the spider an appearance often descr ...

is also different from other theraphosids, having somewhat convergent "keels" on the forward-facing (prolateral) surface. Females have very distinctive

spermatheca The spermatheca (pronounced plural: spermathecae ), also called receptaculum seminis (plural: receptacula seminis), is an organ of the female reproductive tract in insects, e.g. ants, bees, some molluscs, oligochaeta worms and certain other ...

e, with paired receptacles attached to a "back-plate". The body lengths of the species range from about . Males generally have longer legs than females; for example the longest leg (the fourth) of a female ''N. caxiuana'' was long and that of a male long.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Ami'' was erected in 2008 by

Fernando Pérez-Miles Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

; the name is based on a word in the

Tupí Tupí, also known as ''formatge de tupí'', is a fermented cheese of a certain area of the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees made from cows' or sheep's milk. It is a cheese traditionally prepared in the mountainous Pallars region, as well as in the Cerda ...

language, meaning "spider that does not spin a web". Initially six new species were placed in the genus, and ''Avicularia obscura'' was transferred to it. ''Ami'' seemed to be more closely related to the genus ''

'' than to other genera of the large subfamily

Theraphosinae The Theraphosinae are a large subfamily of Mygalomorphae spiders in the family Theraphosidae found in the Neotropical realm. Genera The subfamily Theraphosinae includes these genera: * '' Acanthoscurria'' * '' Aenigmarachne'' * ''Aphonopelma' ...

. It is also similar to the small brownish genera ''

Cyclosternum ''Cyclosternum'' is a genus of tarantulas that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871. Species it contains twelve species, found in South America, Costa Rica, and Mexico: *'' Cyclosternum darienense'' Gabriel & Sherwood, 2022 = Panama ...

'' and ''

Reversopelma ''Reversopelma'' is a monotypic genus of spider in the family Theraphosidae. It is Theraphosine and is native to Peru and Ecuador. The single species is ''Reversopelma petersi''. Description ''Reversopelma'' shows strong sexual dimorphism, the ...

''. The six new species were ''A. caxiuana'', named after the type locality, which means "place of many snakes" in Tupí; ''A. yupanquii'', named after the

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

leader

Tupac Yupanqui Topa Inca Yupanqui or Túpac Inca Yupanqui ( qu, 'Tupaq Inka Yupanki'), translated as "noble Inca accountant," (c. 1441–c. 1493) was the tenth Sapa Inca (1471–93) of the Inca Empire, fifth of the Hanan dynasty. His father was Pachacuti, and ...

, who unified the agricultural populations of Ecuador; ''A. bladesi'' named in honor of Panamanian singer and composer

Ruben Blades Reuben or Reuven is a Hebrew Bible, Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben (son of Jacob), Reuben was the Reuben (son of Jacob), firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include R� ...

; ''A. pijaos'', honoring the

Pijao The Pijao (also Piajao, Pixao, Pinao) are an indigenous people from Colombia. Ethnography The Pijao or Pijaos formed a loose federation of Amerindians and were living in the present-day department of Tolima, Colombia. In pre-Columbian time ...

s, an ancient culture that populated the region of the type locality; ''A. amazonica'', referring to the Colombian Amazonic region; and ''A. weinmanni'', named after Dirk Weinmann, the collector of the type specimens. In 2019, Pérez-Miles and co-workers discovered that ''Ami bladesi'' was identical to the earlier described ''Neischnocolus panamanus'' Petrunkevitch, 1925, whose

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

had been rediscovered. Accordingly, ''Ami'' was considered to be a

of ''Neischnocolus'', and all the species were transferred to that genus.

Species

, the

World Spider Catalog The World Spider Catalog (WSC) is an online searchable database concerned with spider taxonomy. It aims to list all accepted families, genera and species, as well as provide access to the related taxonomic literature. The WSC began as a series of ...

accepted the following species: *''

Neischnocolus amazonica ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a junior synonym of ''Neischnocolus''. Specie ...

'' (Jimenez & Bertani, 2008) (syn. ''Ami amazonica'') – Colombia *''

Neischnocolus armihuariensis ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a junior synonym of ''Neischnocolus''. Specie ...

'' (Kaderka, 2014) (syn. ''Ami armihuariensis'') – Peru *''

Neischnocolus caxiuana ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a junior synonym of ''Neischnocolus''. Specie ...

'' (Pérez-Miles, Miglio & Bonaldo, 2008) (syn. ''Ami caxiuana'') – Brazil *''

Neischnocolus iquitos ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Tarantula, Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a Synonym (taxonomy)#Zoology, juni ...

'' Kaderka, 2020 – Peru *''

Neischnocolus obscurus ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a junior synonym of ''Neischnocolus''. Specie ...

'' (Ausserer, 1875) (syn. ''Ami obscura'') – Colombia *''

Neischnocolus panamanus ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a junior synonym of ''Neischnocolus''. Specie ...

'' Petrunkevitch, 1925 (

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

) (syns. ''Ami bladesi'', ''Barropelma parvior'') – Costa Rica, Panama *''

Neischnocolus pijaos ''Neischnocolus'' is a genus of spiders in the family Tarantula, Theraphosidae. It was first described in 1925 by Petrunkevitch. The genus ''Ami'' was separately described in 2008, but was later discovered to be a Synonym (taxonomy)#Zoology, juni ...

'' (Jimenez & Bertani, 2008) (syn. ''Ami pijaos'') – Colombia *'' Neischnocolus valentinae'' (Almeida, Salvatierra & de Morais, 2019) (syn. ''Ami valentinae'') – Brazil *'' Neischnocolus weinmanni'' (Pérez-Miles, 2008) (syn. ''Ami weinmanni'') – Venezuela *'' Neischnocolus yupanquii'' (Pérez-Miles, Gabriel & Gallon, 2008) (syn. ''Ami yupanquii'') – Ecuador

Notes

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q27464925, from2=Q2445120, from3=Q27464907 Theraphosidae Theraphosidae genera