Researchers from EAFIT University discovered four new species of tarantulas in the Pacific Botanical Garden in Bahía Solano.
The Colombian Pacific coast is an amazing natural region, immersed in one of the most unknown biodiversity hotspots in the world. An expedition carried out in the north of this area, in the Pacific Botanical Garden (JBP) in Bahía Solano, Chocó, focused on studying the diversity of the migalomorphic spider fauna, allowed the discovery of four new species included in the Halonoproctidae and Theraphosidae families.
The trap species Ummidia solana sp. nov., and the theraphosid species Euthycaelus cunampia sp. nov. (Schismatothelinae), Melloina pacifica sp. nov. (Glabropelmatinae), and Neischnocolus mecana sp. nov. (Theraphosinae) were illustrated, diagnosed and described in detail.
Photographs of somatic features and copulatory organs and a distribution map were provided. The morphological, taxonomic and biogeographic aspects of each species were discussed. All these taxonomic novelties represent the first records of these genera for the region, expanding the range of geographic distribution of each of them. This work constitutes the first effort focused on characterizing the community of Mygalomorphae species in the Chocó Biogeographic Region.
Distributed mainly in the tropics, most mygalomorphic spiders have yet to be discovered (Pérez-Miles and Perafán 2017;Opátova et al. 2019;Montes de Oca et al. 2022). They include hairy spiders (sensu stricto tarantulas), trapdoor spiders, funnel-web spiders, millimeter-sized spiders with little use of silk, bald-legged spiders with the ability to adhere substrate to their bodies, among other medium-sized spiders. (Cuervo 1985;Hedin and Bond 2006;Bond et al. 2012).
They are predatory animals, relatively generalists compared to other arthropods, most of them have terrestrial and fossorial habits, although some groups have arboreal habits (Coyle 1986; Pérez-Miles and Perafán 2017).
The Bahía Solano Pacific Botanical Garden covers an area of 170 ha, extending from the Pacific coast to the Baudó mountain range. This place is characterized by having an annual rainfall of more than 5000 mm, an average air temperature of 26 °C and a relative humidity of 85% (Jardín Botánico del Pacífico 2014; Klinger Braham and Blandón Mosquera 2013). The field work was carried out during the days and nights from February 10 to 25, 2022.
