Avicularia walckenaerii (Perty, 1833), nomen dubium

Fukushima, Caroline Sayuri & Bertani, Rogerio, 2017, Taxonomic revision and cladistic analysis of Avicularia Lamarck, 1818 (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Aviculariinae) with description of three new aviculariine genera 01, ZooKeys 659, pp. 1-185 : 81

Avicularia walckenaerii (Perty, 1833), nomen dubium

Mygale walckenaerii Perty, 1833: 191, pl. XXXVIII, fig. 3; Walckenaer 1837: 217; C. L. Koch 1841: 46, pl. CCCIV, fig. 720.

Avicularia walckenaeri : Simon 1892: 171; Petrunkevitch 1911: 766; 1939: 288; Mello-Leitão 1923: 377; World Spider Catalog 2016.

Remarks.

Mygale walckenaerii was found in equatorial Brazil by Spix and Martius. The equatorial part of Brazil they explored were the states of Amazonas, Maranhão and Pará. Mygale walckenaerii was described as having an overall dark coloration, with greyish setae covering its body and "scarlet feet" ( Perty 1833), in reference to vivid reddish rings on tarsi, metatarsi and tibiae. Based on the description ( Perty 1833) and considering the probable occurrence area, the specimen depicted by Perty could be an Avicularia rufa or Avicularia variegata stat. n. As it is not possible to positively identify the species described by Perty (1833), we considered Avicularia walckenaerii (Perty, 1833) nomen dubium.

The holotypes of the species described by Tesmoingt (1996a bc; 1999ab) are not at the Musée d’Histoire Naturelle de Lille, where they should be deposited according to descriptions. We contacted the author and he said the types have never been deposited in any collection. As it is not possible to be sure about the identity of this species only by the information contained in the descriptions, we consider Avicularia azuraklaasi Tesmoingt, 1996 nomen dubium, Avicularia braunshauseni Tesmoingt, 1999 nomen dubium, Avicularia geroldi Tesmoingt, 1999 nomen dubium, Avicularia huriana Tesmoingt, 1996 nomen dubium, and Avicularia ulrichea Tesmoingt, 1996 nomen dubium.