The Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona are known for their extraordinary biodiversity and high rate of endemism, and a remarkable new tarantula species has been discovered in the range, reported using morphological, genomic, behavioral and distributional data. Aphonoperma Jacoby New species They live in the high altitude coniferous forests of these mountains, where they also coexist during the breeding season. A. Chirikawa—Associated Member Marcus Species group—mid-elevation Madrean evergreen oak and pine oak forests. This is the first documented symbiosis between two mountain endemics in the Madrean Islands and adds to our knowledge of the unique tarantula diversity in this endangered region of the United States. A. Chirikawa Based on several newly obtained and precisely identified specimens, phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and genome-scale data provides a A. Jacoby New species More closely related A. MarcusThis species is found mainly on the Colorado Plateau, A. Chirikawa or other taxa from the Madrean Skye. These data provide an evolutionary framework to better understand the complex biogeographic history of the region (e.g., the biotic composition of the Chiricahua Mountains) and the conservation of these spiders.
Hamilton CA, Hendrixson BE, Silvestre Bringas K (2024) New tarantula species discovered in the Madrean Skye Islands and two mountain endemics (Araneae, Bucconidae, Aphonoperma): Previous cases of misidentification. ZooKeys 1210: 61-98. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1210.125318
