Psalmopoeus sp 'Black' (Ecuadorian Black Tree Spider) 0.75"

Unknown black-colored Psalmopoeus spiders can be found in the same range as Psalmopoeus ecclesiasticus (Cifuentes & Bertani, 2022) in Ecuador and Colombia. A few years ago, photos and hype over sp 'Alquitran' (Spanish for tar) circulated the internet. A presumably small number of these 'Alquitran' specimens were collected from Southern Colombia. As far as I am aware, no breeding success resulted. Alternatively, sp 'Black' originates from south, across the border, in Northern Ecuador. Collector's have suggested the epithet sp 'Tononegro' (Spanish for Black-Tone). In consideration of origin proximity (<200 mi), we can postulate that this species and 'Alquitran' may be the same.

Adult female pictured