Melognathus is a monotypic genus of southeast Asian tarantulas containing the single species, Melognathus dromeus. It was erected in 1917 for a holotype collected from a ship that visited southeast Asia.[2] In 1985, the species was moved to Cyriopagopus because the autapomorphies were not considered significant enough to warrant a new genus.[3] Opinions between biologists were split, some using the original name and some using Cyriopagopus.[1] In a 2019 report, Gabriel and Sherwood pointed out that in addition to the differences in pedipalp morphology, the holotype exhibits leg features that indicate an arboreal species, while species of Cyriopagopus are largely terrestrial.[4] The ambiguous location of the holotype has left room for speculation, but as of February 2022[update] the World Spider Catalog accepts this genus.[4][1]
| Melognathus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Chelicerata |
| Class: | Arachnida |
| Order: | Araneae |
| Infraorder: | Mygalomorphae |
| Family: | Theraphosidae |
| Genus: | Melognathus Chamberlin, 1917[1] |
| Species: | M. dromeus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Melognathus dromeus Chamberlin, 1917[1]
| |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Gen. Melognathus Chamberlin, 1917". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. 2022. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
- ^ Chamberlin, R. V. (1917). "New spiders of the family Aviculariidae". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 61: 25–75.
- ^ Raven, R. J. (1985). "The spider infraorder Mygalomorphae (Araneae): cladistics and systematics". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 182: 156.
- ^ a b Gabriel, R.; Sherwood, D. (2019). "The revised taxonomic placement of some arboreal Ornithoctoninae Pocock, 1895 with description of a new species of Omothymus Thorell, 1891 (Araneae: Theraphosidae)". Arachnology. 18 (2): 137–147. doi:10.13156/arac.2018.18.2.137. S2CID 201334300.
Further reading
edit- Smith, A. M.; Jacobi, M. A. (2015). "Revision of the genus Phormingochilus with the description of three new species from Sulawesi and Sarawak and notes on the placement of the genera Cyriopagopus, Lampropelma and Omothymus". British Tarantula Society Journal. 30 (3): 25–48.