- Joined
- May 7, 2004
- Messages
- 1,921
Slight correction. The "sp." followed by a genus name simply means a species of that genus. Its usage does not imply that it is unknown to science awaiting classification (undescribed). Psalmopoeus sp. "Whatever" just means that the one who uses it is referring to a species of Psalmopoeus. They don't know what species, or even if it is new to science, but sure it belongs to the genus Psalmopoeus. Could be a new species needing to be classified or it could be a known species needing to be identified.
If you were to find a tarantula in a tree in Ecuador, and you were just "pretty sure" it belonged to the genus Psalmopoeus, it would be more proper to refer to it as a species of the taxonomic rank you were sure of such as by subfamily- Psalmopoeinae (singular psalmopoeine- or even family, Theraphosidae (singular theraphosid), if you were even unsure of its subfamily placement. When you were absolutely sure by proper identification to the genus, then you could refer to it as a Psalmopoeus species (sp.).
Unfortunately, those involved in the pet trade either as breeders, sellers, or buyers are kind of loose on the proper identification and usage of taxonomic nomenclature so who really knows what anyone is talking about at any given time. The tarantula keeping hobby is kind of weird in that there is a lot of scientific jargon flying around, but very few people actually understand what they are saying. LOL
One last thing. Scientific names are not called "Latin names". Many are made up of Greek root words, Latin root words, Latinized English (in other words not real Latin), root words from different languages, or even a mix-and-match of root words from many different languages.
