Chaetopelma is a genus of tarantulas that was first described by Anton Ausserer in 1871. They are found in Africa, Europe, and Asia including the countries of Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Cyprus, Israel, Greece, Sudan, Cameroon, and Iran.
Diagnosis They can be distinguished from the other tarantula genera, except from Nesiergus, because the presence of clavate trichobothria in two rows on the tarsi. Males have a tibial apophysis consisting of two branches, females having a long and slender spermatheca.
Species it contains eight species, found in Africa, the Balkans, Cyprus, and the Levant: Chaetopelma altugkadirorum Gallon, Gabriel & Tansley, 2012 – Turkey, Syria Chaetopelma concolor (Simon, 1873) – Turkey, Syria, Egypt Chaetopelma karlamani Vollmer, 1997 – Cyprus Chaetopelma lymberakisi Chatzaki & Komnenov, 2019 – Greece (Crete) Chaetopelma olivaceum (C. L. Koch, 1841) (type) – Cyprus, Turkey, Sudan, Egypt, Middle East Chaetopelma persianum Zalmani & West, 2023- northern Zagros Mountains, Iran Chaetopelma turkesi Topçu & Demircan, 2014 – Turkey Chaetopelma webborum Smith, 1990 – Cameroon
In synonymy: C. aegyptiacum Ausserer, 1871 = Chaetopelma olivaceum C. anatolicum Schmidt & Smith, 1995 = Chaetopelma olivaceum C. gracile (Ausserer, 1871) = Chaetopelma olivaceum C. jerusalemensis (Smith, 1990) = Chaetopelma olivaceum C. shabati Hassan, 1950 = Chaetopelma olivaceum C. syriacum (Ausserer, 1871) = Chaetopelma olivaceum C. tetramerum (Simon, 1873) = Chaetopelma olivaceum
Transferred to other genera
Chaetopelma adenense Simon, 1890 → Ischnocolus jickelii Chaetopelma gardineri Hirst, 1911 → Nesiergus gardineri Chaetopelma longipes L. Koch, 1875 → Holothele longipes Chaetopelma olivaceum (Strand, 1907) → Encyocratella olivacea Chaetopelma strandi Schmidt, 1991 → Encyocratella olivacea
References