Biology:Psalmopoeus
Psalmopoeus is a genus of the family Theraphosidae containing various species of tarantulas. The genus is native to Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana, Brazil, Belize, Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. All of these tarantulas are arboreal in nature, Psalmopoeus victori being the first arboreal tarantula of Mexico.
Venom
These species are believed to be relatively venomous, and research in the venom of P. cambridgei shows it to target the same nociceptor as capsaicin, the molecule causing irritation in chilli peppers.[1] These molecules activate sensory cells to send pain signals to the brain. Genetic engineers are working on blocking the receptors that are activated by these molecules.[1]
Diagnosis
The species of this genus can be distinguished from all others by the lyriform organ in the prolateral maxillae, composed of a singular row of thick hairlike bristles. They also own hairs on the base of the chelicerae, also having short hairs in the retrolateral side of the pedipalp trochanter and femur.[2]
List of species
As of November 2025[update], the World Spider Catalog accepted the following species:[3]
- Psalmopoeus cambridgei Pocock, 1895 (type species) – Trinidad and Tobago
- Psalmopoeus chronoarachne Peñaherrera-R. & León-E., 2023 - Ecuador
- Psalmopoeus copanensis Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020 - Honduras
- Psalmopoeus drolshageni Sherwood, Gabriel, Peñaherrera-R., Guerrero-Campoverde, León-E., Falcón-Reibán, Fajardo-Torres, Picón-Rentería & Cisneros-Heredia, 2025 - Costa Rica
- Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus Pocock, 1903 – Colombia and Ecuador
- Psalmopoeus emeraldus Pocock, 1903 – Colombia
- Psalmopoeus intermedius Chamberlin, 1940 - Panama
- Psalmopoeus irminia Saager, 1994 – Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil
- Psalmopoeus langenbucheri Schmidt, Bullmer & Thierer-Lutz, 2006 – Venezuela
- Psalmopoeus maya Witt, 1996 - Belize
- Psalmopoeus petenensis Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020 - Guatemala
- Psalmopoeus plantaris Pocock, 1903 – Colombia
- Psalmopoeus pristirana Dupérré & Tapia, 2024 - Ecuador
- Psalmopoeus pulcher Petrunkevitch, 1925 – Panama and Colombia
- Psalmopoeus reduncus Karsch, 1880 – Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama
- Psalmopoeus sandersoni Gabriel & Sherwood, 2020 - Belize
- Psalmopoeus satanas Peñaherrera-R. & León-E., 2023 - Ecuador
- Psalmopoeus victori Mendoza, 2014 – Mexico
- Psalmopoeus wallacea Sherwood, Gabriel, Peñaherrera-R., Guerrero-Campoverde, León-E., Falcón-Reibán, Fajardo-Torres, Picón-Rentería & Cisneros-Heredia, 2025 - Honduras
- Psalmopoeus zombie Sherwood, Peñaherrera-R., Gabriel, Guerrero-Campoverde, León-E., Falcón-Reibán, Fajardo-Torres, Picón-Rentería & Cisneros-Heredia, 2025 - Colombia
In synonymy
- Psalmopoeus longipes F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1896 = Psalmopoeus cambridgei
- Psalmopoeus rufus Petrunkevitch, 1925 = Psalmopoeus pulcher
- Psalmopoeus affinis Strand, 1907 - West Indies
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Anitei, Stefan (2006). Chili Peppers, as Strong as Tarantula Venom. Science.
- ↑ Pérez-Miles, Fernando (2020-12-15) (in en). New World Tarantulas: Taxonomy, Biogeography and Evolutionary Biology of Theraphosidae. Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-030-48644-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=TTMPEAAAQBAJ&dq=Diagnosis+Psalmopoeus&pg=PA109.
- ↑ Gloor, Daniel; Nentwig, Wolfgang; Blick, Theo; Kropf, Christian (2025). Gen. Psalmopoeus Pocock, 1895. Natural History Museum Bern. doi:10.24436/2. https://www.wsc.nmbe.ch/genus-catalog/3594/taxon. Retrieved 2025-12-22.
External links
Wikidata ☰ Q139889 entry
 |  |
