Ephebopus is a genus of northeastern South American tarantulas that was first described by Eugène Louis Simon in 1892.[2] Its relation to other tarantulas is one of the most uncertain in the family, and it has been frequently moved around and has been placed in each of the eight subfamilies at least once.[3]

Ephebopus
Ephebopus cyanognathus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Family: Theraphosidae
Genus: Ephebopus
Simon, 1892[1]
Type species
E. murinus
(Walckenaer, 1837)
Species

5, see text

Description

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They normally grow to a legspan of 10 to 15 centimetres (3.9 to 5.9 in). Most live in burrows, though E. murinus spends an adolescent stage living in trees. Like many other New World tarantulas, these spiders will brush urticating hairs from their bodies as a defense against potential predation. However, these spiders are unique because instead of the abdomen, these hairs are located on the pedipalps, and are removed by rubbing the palps against the chelicerae.[4]

Diagnosis

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They can be differentiated from all other tarantulas by the urticating patch of type 5 urticating hairs, on the pedipalp femora.[3]

Species

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As of July 2022 it contains five species, found in Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, and French Guiana:[3][1]

In synonymy

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Nomen Dubium

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  • Ephebopus fossor Pocock, 1903 - Ecuador

Transferred to other genera

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Gloor, Daniel; Nentwig, Wolfgang; Blick, Theo; Kropf, Christian (2020). "Gen. Ephebopus Simon, 1892". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
  2. ^ Simon, E (1892). Histoire naturelle des araignées. Paris: Roret. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.51973.
  3. ^ a b c West, R. C.; et al. (2008). "Review and cladistic analysis of the Neotropical tarantula genus Ephebopus Simon 1892 (Araneae: Theraphosidae) with notes on the Aviculariinae". Zootaxa. 1849: 39–58. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1849.1.3.
  4. ^ Foelix, Rainer; Rast, Bastian; Erb, Bruno (2009-12-01). "Palpal urticating hairs in the tarantula Ephebopus: fine structure and mechanism of release". The Journal of Arachnology. 37 (3): 292–298. doi:10.1636/sh08-106.1. S2CID 55161327.