GENUS - SUBFAMILY CORRELATIONS

FOR THE FAMILY THERAPHOSIDAE

by Stanley A. Schultz

and

Marguerite J. Schultz

Last revised on 2007-February-02!

READ ME FIRST!

These correlations are not agreed upon by all authorities. However, until DNA testing confirms them or offers a better system this is probably as good as any proposed so far.

Some of the things you should know when using these lists:

1. Traditionally the genera Psalmopoeus and Tapenauchenius were considered part of the Aviculariinae. Some authorities now consider them part of the Selenocosmiinae instead and they are listed under the Selenocosmiinae here.

2. Because of a serious error in taxonomy made in the nineteenth century, many genera and species are incorrectly included in the Ischnocolinae. Indeed, it is likely that most, if not all, New World Ischnocolinae are incorrectly classified as such and will be moved to appropriate subfamilies and genera if and when a thorough revision of this subfamily is made. Most of these "errant" genera should probably be moved to "Incertae sedis" until then, but apparently no one knows enough about them to even make that change. In the meantime we list them all in the Ischnocolinae (as traditionally done), but with grave reservations. May the reader beware!

3. In the past the genus Poecilotheria was placed in the Selenocosmiinae, but growing support now places it in its own subfamily, Poecilotheriinae.

4. "Incertae sedis" (literally "uncertain seat") means that the proper position in this scheme for these genera has not been worked out.

5. These lists only mention those genera shown on Dr. Norman Platnick’s web-based list at http://research.amnh.org/entomology/spiders/catalog/THERAPHOSIDAE.html as that list is the “official” list of recognized genera and species. If you are presented with a genus that’s not listed on these lists there are several possible causes:

a. Your source is using a fabricated (bogus) name. Go back to your source to find out if a better name is available, or post a query on the American Tarantula Society’s message board to see if anyone else can supply you with the correct name.

b. The name as you’re trying to use it is so badly misspelled that it’s unrecognizable on our lists. Go back to your source to find out if a better spelling is available, or post a query on the American Tarantula Society’s message board to see if anyone else can supply you with the correct spelling.

c. Your source is using an outdated name that has since been relegated to synonymy. Use your web browser to go to Dr. Platnick’s list, use the search function to hunt up the currently accepted name and try again. Warning: If the name you’re looking for is misspelled too, you won’t find it on Dr. Platnick’s list. Refer to the paragraph above.

d. The naming of your genus has changed too recently to have been incorporated in the latest edition of Dr. Platnick’s list. Post a query on the American Tarantula Society’s message board to see if anyone else can supply you with a proper reference to the scientific paper that created or changed the genus. If none is forthcoming, it’s a pretty good bet that the name falls into either category “a” or “b” above.

There are two tables here, one is arranged alphabetically by genus, the other alphabetically by subfamily.