''Vitalius'' 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 ...

of South American

tarantulas 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 ...

that was first described by S. Lucas, P. I. da Silva Jr. &

Rogério Bertani Rogério Bertani is a Brazilian arachnologist, active at the Butantan Institute. He is credited as one of the foremost specialists in Theraphosidae Tarantulas comprise a group of large and often hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae. , ...

in 1993.

Diagnosis

They can be distinguished from other

by the lack of

stridulating 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 ...

hairs on the prolateral side of coxa 1 and in the

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 ...

. By the absence of

scopula ''Scopula'' is a genus of moths in the family Geometridae described by Franz von Paula Schrank in 1802. Species It has 705 species which are listed here alphabetically. A *'' Scopula ablativa'' (Dognin, 1911) *''Scopula abolita'' Herbulot, 9 ...

on the side of

femur The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with ...

1, and

metatarsus The metatarsal bones, or metatarsus, are a group of five long bones in the foot, located between the tarsal bones of the hind- and mid-foot and the phalanges of the toes. Lacking individual names, the metatarsal bones are numbered from the med ...

1 closing between the male spur branches.

Species

it contains ten species, found in

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 ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

: *'' Vitalius buecherli'' Bertani, 2001 –

*'' Vitalius dubius'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) – Brazil *''

Vitalius longisternalis ''Vitalius'' is a genus of South American tarantulas that was first described by S. Lucas, P. I. da Silva Jr. & Rogério Bertani in 1993. Diagnosis They can be distinguished from other tarantulas by the lack of stridulating hairs on the prolater ...

'' Bertani, 2001 – Brazil,

*'' Vitalius lucasae'' Bertani, 2001 – Brazil *'' Vitalius nondescriptus'' (Mello-Leitão, 1926) – Brazil *'' Vitalius paranaensis'' Bertani, 2001 – Brazil, Argentina *'' Vitalius roseus'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) – Brazil, Argentina *'' Vitalius sorocabae'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) ( type) – Brazil *''

Vitalius vellutinus ''Vitalius'' is a genus of South American tarantulas that was first described by S. Lucas, P. I. da Silva Jr. & Rogério Bertani in 1993. Diagnosis They can be distinguished from other tarantulas by the lack of stridulating hairs on the prolater ...

'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) – Brazil *'' Vitalius wacketi'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) – Brazil

In
Synonymy A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are all ...

*''V. cephalopheus'' (Piza, 1944) = ''Vitalius vellutinus'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) *''V. cesteri'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) = ''Vitalius dubius'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) *''V. communis'' (Piza, 1939) = ''Vitalius dubius'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) *''V. cucullatus'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) = ''Vitalius dubius'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) *''V. exsul'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) = ''Vitalius dubius'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) *''V. insularis'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) = ''Vitalius wacketi'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) *''V. litoralis'' = ''Vitalius wacketi'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) *''V. masculus'' (Piza, 1939) = ''Vitalius wacketi'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) *''V. melanocephalus'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) = ''Vitalius sorocabae'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) *''V. melloleitaoi'' = ''Vitalius nondescriptus'' (Mello-Leitão, 1926) *''V. mus'' (Piza, 1944) = ''Vitalius dubius'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) *''V. piracicabensis'' (Piza, 1933) = ''Vitalius dubius'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) *''V. urbanicola'' (Soares, 1941) = ''Vitalius dubius'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) *''V. ypiranguensis'' (Soares, 1941) = ''Vitalius dubius'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923)

Nomina dubia In binomial nomenclature, a ''nomen dubium'' (Latin for "doubtful name", plural ''nomina dubia'') is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application. Zoology In case of a ''nomen dubium'' it may be impossible to determine whether a s ...

*''V. platyomma'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923 - Brazil *''V. rondoniensis'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923 - Brazil *''V. tetracanthus'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923 - Brazil

Formerly included

* ''Vitalius cristatus'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) → ''

Lasiodora cristata ''Lasiodora'' is a genus of tarantulas that was first described by Ludwig Carl Christian Koch in 1850. They are often very large; body lengths of up to , including the legs, are not unusual. They are found in South America, including the countries ...

'' * ''Vitalius holophaeus'' (Mello-Leitão, 1923) → '' Eupalaestrus spinosissimus'' * ''Vitalius vulpinus'' Schmidt, 1998 → ''

Nhandu tripepii ''Nhandu tripepii'' is a spider species, and is a theraphosine theraphosid. It is native to Brazil.List of Theraphosidae species This page lists all described genera and species of the spider family Theraphosidae. , the World Spider Catalog accepts 1041 species in 156 genera: A ''Acanthopelma'' '' Acanthopelma'' F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897 * '' Acanthopelma beccarii'' ...

References

External links

Theraphosidae genera Spiders of South America Theraphosidae {{Theraphosidae-stub