''Tmesiphantes yupanqui'' is a species of

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 ...

in the 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' ...

of the family

Theraphosidae Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , 1,040 species have been identified, with 156 genera. The term "tarantula" is usually used to describe members of the family Theraphosidae, although m ...

. It is endemic to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Taxonomy

The species was first described in 2014 as ''Melloleitaoina yupanqui''. The specific name ''yupanqui'' is in honour of

Atahualpa Yupanqui Atahualpa Yupanqui (; born Héctor Roberto Chavero Aramburu; 31 January 1908 – 23 May 1992) was an Argentine singer, songwriter, guitarist, and writer. He is considered the most important Argentine folk musician of the 20th century. Biography ...

, a famous musician and a synonym of Héctor Aramburu. In 2019, it was transferred to the genus ''

Tmesiphantes ''Tmesiphantes'' is a genus of Brazilian tarantulas in the subfamily Theraphosinae that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1892. The genera ''Magulla'' and ''Melloleitaoina'' were brought into synonymy in 2019. Species it contains ...

''.

Characteristics

''Tmesiphantes yupanqui'' has a very curved

embolus An embolus (; plural emboli; from the Greek ἔμβολος "wedge", "plug") is an unattached mass that travels through the bloodstream and is capable of creating blockages. When an embolus occludes a blood vessel, it is called an embolism or emb ...

with no triangular spine, and a discontinued prolateral superior keel (still on the embolus) which separates into two keels. The female

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 are short and with large granules.

References

Theraphosidae Spiders of Argentina Spiders described in 2014 {{Theraphosidae-stub