Pseudhapalopus

Pseudhapalopus is a small, South American tarantula genus first described by Embrik Strand in 1907 from a single male specimen collected in Bolivia, named Pseudhapalopus aculeatus. For many years, additional dwarf terrestrial species from northern South America and the Caribbean were placed in this genus, including P. spinulopalpus, P. velox and P. trinitatis.

Modern taxonomic work has shown that most of those species do not truly belong in Pseudhapalopus. A 2020 revision by Gabriel & Sherwood re-examined the original material and related genera, concluding that P. aculeatus is a poorly known, doubtful species (“species inquirenda”), and that other species formerly placed in Pseudhapalopus needed to be moved. As a result:

• Pseudhapalopus spinulopalpus and several related forms were transferred to a new genus, Spinosatibiapalpus.

• Pseudhapalopus velox was moved to the genus Cymbiapophysa.

Because of this, Pseudhapalopus is currently treated as a monotypic and taxonomically uncertain genus, containing only the doubtful species P. aculeatus from Bolivia.

In the pet trade, names like “Pseudhapalopus sp. Colombia,” “Yellow Bottle Blue,” or “Colombian Purple & Gold” are still widely used, but current evidence suggests these popular dwarf tarantulas actually belong in Spinosatibiapalpus, not Pseudhapalopus. Hobby use of the old genus name continues mostly out of tradition and familiarity rather than strict scientific accuracy.

Pseudhapalopus sp.