Psalmopoeus emeraldus Pocock, 1903

Cifuentes, Yeimy & Bertani, Rogerio, 2022, Taxonomic revision and cladistic analysis of the tarantula genera Tapinauchenius Ausserer, 1871, Psalmopoeus Pocock, 1985, and Amazonius n. gen. (Theraphosidae, Psalmopoeinae), Zootaxa 5101 (1), pp. 1-123 : 81

Psalmopoeus emeraldus Pocock, 1903

( Figs 145 , 236 )

Psalmopoeus emeraldus Pocock, 1903: 84 ; Petrunkevitch 1911: 86; 1939: 289; Roewer 1942: 256; Bonnet 1958: 3798; World Spider Catalog 2021.

Type material. Female holotype from Colombia, Boyacá, Muzo, emerald mines, I. da Costa col., BMNH 1894.12 .9.1, examined by RB (2003) ( Fig. 236 ) .

Remarks. Pocock (1903) described P. emeraldus with a small female of 28 mm in total length, deep olive coloration, and stridulating organ not isolated from oral fringe. The type locality of the specimen was the valley of Meta River, reported as a tributary of Magdalena River in Muzo emerald mines in Colombia. Currently, Meta River is located in colombian oriental region and it is tributary of Orinoco River. It is possible the existence of other Meta River or tributaries of Magdalena River with this name in the region at the time of collection, but it is probable that the species was found in the valley of Minero or Guiazo, rivers of the region and both tributaries of the Magdalena River.

The holotype of Psalmopoeus emeraldus was deposited at the British Museum of Natural History collection and preserved dry. When it was examined in 2003, it was not allowed to dissect the specimen in order to see the spermathecae. There is an immature specimen at ICN of Universidad Nacional de Colombia with the same pattern of stridulatory organ as in P. emeraldus from Colombia, Santander, San Vicente de Chucurí, in the National Natural Park Serranía de Los Yariguies (ICN-Ar- unnumbered). Santander is a neighbor state of Boyacá, state of original description of P. emeraldus , and similar by the altitude and type of ecosystems of the region, compared with the original location of P. emeraldus , thus, it is probable that the specimen corresponds to the species, but no mature specimens are available. The collection of mature specimens from the type locality region may confirm if P. emeraldus is a valid species. Therefore, we consider P. emeraldus a valid species until more specimens and information be available to confirm its identity.

Figures

FIGURE 145. Map showing geographic records (dots) of Psalmopoeus species. Psalmopoeus cambridgei (red), P. reduncus (orange), P. ecclesiasticus (purple), P. emeraldus (light blue), P. plantaris (brown), P. pulcher (green), P. irminia (yellow), P. langenbucheri (blue), P. victori (black).

FIGURES 236–237. 236, Psalmopoeus emeraldus, holotype female (BMNH 1894.12.9.1), right maxilla, lyra. 237, Psalmopoeus plantaris, holotype female (BMNH 1846.20), right maxilla, lyra.