Bonnetina is a genus of Mexican tarantulas that was first described by F. Vol in 2000.[2]

Bonnetina
Bonnetina rudloffi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata
Class: Arachnida
Order: Araneae
Infraorder: Mygalomorphae
Family: Theraphosidae
Genus: Bonnetina
Vol, 2000[1]
Type species
B. cyaneifemur
Vol, 2000
Species

16, see text

Morphology edit

Before the era of genetics and molecular phylogeny, tarantulas were classified based on the presence or absence of physical traits and characteristics. However, tarantulas happen to be excessively homoplastic, meaning the same seemingly unique characteristics have evolved separately rather than from a common ancestor, leading to many misplacements and misidentifications, and this genus is no different.

In 2018, a molecular study and phylogenetic analysis by Ortiz, Francke, and Bond aimed to create a timeline in the evolution of Bonnetina and to address possible monophyly in the genus. They sampled DNA from select taxa, sequencing five nuclear markers and one mitochondrial marker, concluding that Bonnetina was composed of unrelated species that simply shared physical attributes, with the exception of B. juxtantricola. Only the sexual features were observed not to be homoplastic, suggesting that sexual selection may have been a driving force in their divergence.[3]

Species edit

As of December 2019 it contains sixteen species, all found in Mexico:[1]

In synonymy:

  • B. reyescastilloi Estrada-Alvarez, 2014 = Bonnetina tanzeri Schmidt, 2012

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Gen. Bonnetina Vol, 2000". World Spider Catalog Version 20.0. Natural History Museum Bern. 2020. doi:10.24436/2. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  2. ^ Vol, F. (2000). "Description de Bonnetina cyaneifemur, gen. n. & sp. n. (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Theraphosinae) du Mexique". Arachnides. 44: 2–9.
  3. ^ Ortiz, D.; Francke, O.F.; Bond, J.E. (October 2018). "A tangle of forms and phylogeny: Extensive morphological homoplasy and molecular clock heterogeneity in Bonnetina and related tarantulas". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 127: 55–73. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.05.013. PMID 29778724. S2CID 29152043.