THE GENUS APHONOPELMA

8/21/21: Back in the early 1990s in the U.S. hobby, we first saw Aphonopelma hentzi in great supply during our summer and early fall months and then by 1997, we saw A. anax, A. chalcodes and A. moderatum. By 2004, A. hentzi and A. chalcodes have become "hobby classics" and a hobbyist can usually find them for sale between July and October as wild-caught juveniles to adults, but rarely as captive-born stock. This genus is fairly tricky as they need to be cooled down for a few months with cool temperatures with low humidity and then warmed up with more water and humidity to trigger an egg sac to be laid.  Since 2015, we have noticed a decline in supply of this genus from field-collected specimens. Wild fires, habitat destruction, and droughts have been the main reasons for this. As a result, supply has been down, and prices went up for their demand especially females that can live up to 25+ years! Now that these genus is not readily available, hobbyists are starting to appreciate these beautiful, hardy, long-lived, and fairly docile tarantulas. When it comes to appearance, A. marxi, A. madera, and A. moderatum top the genus. As for the most docile/placid species, go with A. anax and A. hentzi. Older adult females of A. chalcodes also can be quite docile. Now, locality specific specimens are being supplied. We highly recommend breeding only known locality specific species to the same known locality. Now, this genus is finally being appreciated, we highly recommend investing in this genus and trying to produce captive-born stock to continue our great hobby.

Below is the most up-to-date listing of valid species described to the genus Aphonopelma:

• Aphonopelma anax (Chamberlin, 1940) – United States, Mexico
• Aphonopelma anitahoffmannae Locht, Medina, Rojo & Vázquez, 2005 – Mexico
• Aphonopelma armada (Chamberlin, 1940) – United States
• Aphonopelma atomicum Hamilton, 2016 – United States
• Aphonopelma bacadehuachi Hendrixson, 2019 – Mexico
• Aphonopelma belindae Gabriel, 2011 – Panama
• Aphonopelma bicoloratum Struchen, Brändle & Schmidt, 1996 – Mexico
• Aphonopelma burica Valerio, 1980 – Costa Rica
• Aphonopelma caniceps (Simon, 1891) – Mexico
• Aphonopelma catalina Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 – United States
• Aphonopelma chalcodes Chamberlin, 1940 – United States
• Aphonopelma chiricahua Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 – United States
• Aphonopelma cookei Smith, 1995 – Mexico
• Aphonopelma crinirufum (Valerio, 1980) – Costa Rica
• Aphonopelma crinitum (Pocock, 1901) – Mexico
• Aphonopelma duplex (Chamberlin, 1925) – Mexico
• Aphonopelma eustathes (Chamberlin, 1940) – Mexico
• Aphonopelma eutylenum Chamberlin, 1940 – United States
• Aphonopelma gabeli Smith, 1995 – United States
• Aphonopelma geotoma (Chamberlin, 1937) – Mexico
• Aphonopelma gertschi Smith, 1995 – Mexico
• Aphonopelma griseum Chamberlin, 1940 – Mexico
• Aphonopelma hageni (Strand, 1906) – Mexico
• Aphonopelma helluo (Simon, 1891) – Mexico
• Aphonopelma hentzi (Girard, 1852) – United States
• Aphonopelma hesperum (Chamberlin, 1917) – Mexico
• Aphonopelma icenoglei Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 – United States
• Aphonopelma iodius (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1939) – United States
• Aphonopelma johnnycashi Hamilton, 2016 – United States
• Aphonopelma joshua Prentice, 1997 – United States
• Aphonopelma latens (Chamberlin, 1917) – El Salvador, Nicaragua
• Aphonopelma levii Smith, 1995 – Mexico
• Aphonopelma madera Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 – United States
• Aphonopelma mareki Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 – United States
• Aphonopelma marxi (Simon, 1891) – United States
• Aphonopelma moderatum (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1939) – United States
• Aphonopelma moellendorfi Hamilton, 2016 – United States
• Aphonopelma mojave Prentice, 1997 – United States
• Aphonopelma mooreae Smith, 1995 – Mexico
• Aphonopelma nayaritum Chamberlin, 1940 – Mexico
• Aphonopelma pallidum (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897) – Mexico
• Aphonopelma paloma Prentice, 1993 – United States
• Aphonopelma parvum Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 – United States
• Aphonopelma peloncillo Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 – United States
• Aphonopelma phasmus Chamberlin, 1940 – United States
• Aphonopelma platnicki Smith, 1995 – Mexico
• Aphonopelma prenticei Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 – United States
• Aphonopelma prosoicum Chamberlin, 1940 – Mexico
• Aphonopelma ruedanum Chamberlin, 1940 – Mexico
• Aphonopelma saguaro Hamilton, 2016 – United States
• Aphonopelma sclerothrix (Valerio, 1980) – Costa Rica
• Aphonopelma seemanni (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897) (type species) – Central America
• Aphonopelma serratum (Simon, 1891) – Mexico
• Aphonopelma steindachneri (Ausserer, 1875) – United States
• Aphonopelma superstitionense Hamilton, Hendrixson & Bond, 2016 – United States
• Aphonopelma truncatum (F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1897) – Mexico
• Aphonopelma vorhiesi (Chamberlin & Ivie, 1939) – United States
• Aphonopelma xanthochromum (Valerio, 1980) – Costa Rica
• Aphonopelma xwalxwal Hamilton, 2016 – United States