Another Avicularia hirschii material turned out to be Avicularia lynnae!

Theraphosid Research Team

Arachnoknight
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Recently, we received from Christian Hirsch a preserved adult male and two preserved subadult females that he had received as “Avicularia hirschii” from Ecuador. It apparently came from the same reference collection as the specimen from Michał Królicki, which we had at the time for identification (see HERE).
The material from Christian Hirsch is identical to the material from Michał Królicki and therefore fully matches the details and illustrations in the expertise on our website (see HERE) and the illustrations and details in the revision of the subfamily Aviculariinae by Fukushima & Bertani (2017). So it is obviously belongs also to Avicularia lynnae Fukushima & Bertani 2017. The following pics show the most important characters of the male and the spermatheca of the larger subadult female of Christian Hirsch's material. The shape of the bulb and especially the length of the embolus, as well as the structure of the strong setae on tibia 1 ventral/apical, apparently do not vary much within the species and differ significantly from those of the male A. hirschii! Thus, these characters not only appear to be distinctly different from Avicularia hirschii, but can actually be used as distinguishing features of both species due to their apparently low variation. There is no doubt that the taxa A. hirschii and A. lynnae are very closely related to each other. However, they are not distinguishable based on the shape of the spermatheca alone.
It is very likely that all Avicularia hirschii imported or smuggled from Ecuador in recent years are actually Avicularia lynnae.

Literature:

Fukushima, C. S. & Bertani, R. (2017). Taxonomic revision and cladistic analysis of Avicularia Lamarck, 1818 (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Aviculariinae) with description of three new aviculariine genera. ZooKeys 659: 1-185, Suppl. 1-5
 

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viper69

ArachnoGod
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Wow that’s amazing- thank you!

I am very interested in A. avicularia morphotype 6 and the specimens formerly called A. sp Kwitara River from DNA perspective. Are they identical or are they actually different species.
 

Smotzer

ArachnoGod
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I am very interested in A. avicularia morphotype 6 and the specimens formerly called A. sp Kwitara River from DNA perspective. Are they identical or are they actually different species.
Hope we one day sort this out!
 

Liquifin

Laxow Legacy LLC
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One step at a time to solving and properly identifying this genus. We're one step closer. :happy:
 

Brewser

AraneaeRebel
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One small step for man, One giant leap for pink toe kind.
 

Theraphosid Research Team

Arachnoknight
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DNA is not everything. A cline would probably show a clear difference in the concordance of the base sequence at the end points of the cline, even though gene flow is taking place. However, that is exactly what I suspect in numerous Avicularia species. An integrative approach would be the solution. In this approach, the phylogenies from different taxonomic disciplines are combined and interpreted (morphology, biogeography, DNA analysis, etc.).
 

Tentacle Toast

Arachnobaron
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Wow that’s amazing- thank you!

I am very interested in A. avicularia morphotype 6 and the specimens formerly called A. sp Kwitara River from DNA perspective. Are they identical or are they actually different species.
Hope we one day sort this out!
All Avics - DNA !
DNA is not everything. A cline would probably show a clear difference in the concordance of the base sequence at the end points of the cline, even though gene flow is taking place. However, that is exactly what I suspect in numerous Avicularia species. An integrative approach would be the solution. In this approach, the phylogenies from different taxonomic disciplines are combined and interpreted (morphology, biogeography, DNA analysis, etc.).
Where are "we" in the process, right now, in October of the year 2024? A mishmash of taxonomic projects, & college theses? Are we so far as to have begun to coalesce these materials? Who does it "officially?" And what's the biggest roadblock, financial backing? How much would it cost?
 

viper69

ArachnoGod
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Time, people, research funds, an interest in doing it, and access to pure specimens, ie not some Avic out of hobbyists for fear of hybrids.

The same needs as any other research project from academia
 

Theraphosid Research Team

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 29, 2002
Messages
281
Where are "we" in the process, right now, in October of the year 2024? A mishmash of taxonomic projects, & college theses? Are we so far as to have begun to coalesce these materials? Who does it "officially?" And what's the biggest roadblock, financial backing? How much would it cost?
I am not aware of anyone currently working on the phylogeny of the Avculariinae. We are certainly the least involved, as I specialize in the systematics of Asian tarantulas and my girlfriend specializes in the documentation and ontogeny of the sexual organs of young tarantulas. We only occasionally identify and report on tarantulas that are sent to us and thus test the usefulness of modern taxonomic publications in the field of tarantula systematics.
 
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