Heterothele ogbunikia Smith, 1990

Common name: Ogbunike cave baboon

species inquirenda ♂ Male described

Type Locality and Records

Type locality

Original Description

Smith, A. (1990). Baboon Spiders: Tarantulas of Africa and the Middle East. Fitzgerald Publishing, London [p. 77, f. 365a-365k].

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Distribution

Nigeria

Adult Male Activity

Collection months of 1 adult male specimen record, against the rainfall where they live

Adult males collected

Mean monthly rainfall and temperature 2001–2020 near where these males were collected, Nigeria. MERRA-2 via NASA POWER, for a grid cell averaging 82 m. Wet and dry seasons, from the rainfall at the locality itself.

Etymology

Named after cave in which specimen was found.

Specimen Records (2)

BMNH (Ogbunike Cave holotype) ♂ Holotype Nigeria

Ogbunike Cave, Anambra

April 1974 · col. Dr M. A. Edington

Holotype of Heterothele ogbunikia — described by Smith (1990) as an adult female, but in fact an immature male one or two moults from maturity

BMNH 25-4-74 ♀ Type Nigeria

Ogbunike cave

April 1975 · col. Dr. M. Eddingtori

Taxonomic History

1990
Smith (1990) described this species from what he took to be an adult female. Gallon & Sherwood (2026) examined the holotype (BMNH, from Ogbunike Cave, Nigeria) and found it is an immature male, seemingly one or two moults from maturity. Since an immature cannot support a diagnosis, the name is held a species inquirenda.

Bibliography (3)

Smith, A. (1990). Baboon Spiders: Tarantulas of Africa and the Middle East. Fitzgerald Publishing, London [p. 77, f. 365a-365k].

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Sherwood, D. & Gallon, R. C. (2025). Heterothele erdosi, a new species of Heterothele Karsch, 1879 from Nigeria (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Natura Somogyiensis 45: 51-56.

Gallon, R. C. & Sherwood, D. (2026). Taxonomic notes on the tarantula genus Heterothele Karsch, 1879 (Araneae: Theraphosidae) with a new synonymy, resurrection of H. longipalpis Karsch, 1879, two nomina dubia, and description of a new species from Tanzania. Arachnology 20 (4): 623-639.