Grammostola australis Gerschman & Schiapelli, 1948

Described by Berta S. Gerschman de Pikelin, Rita D. Schiapelli

♀ Female described ♂ Male described

Female © Nicoletta et al. (2025), fig. 2A, female habitus

Distribution

Argentina

Type Locality: ARGENTINA, Rio Negro Province, Contralmirante Cordero

Adult Male Activity

Collection months of 1 adult male specimen record

Adult males collected

Specimen Records (4)

MACN-Ar 1833 ♂ Holotype Argentina

Contralmirante Cordero, Rio Negro

1946 · col. Oliver Adams

Holotype male of Grammostola australis, redescribed by Nicoletta et al. (2025) when they resurrected the species from synonymy with G. inermis.

MACN-Ar 1834 ♂ Paratype Argentina

Contralmirante Cordero, Rio Negro

1946 · col. Oliver Adams

Paratype male of Grammostola australis, same data as the holotype.

CERZOS-UNS M1335 ♀ Argentina

Bardas del Norte, General Roca, Rio Negro

November 2023 · col. Allegue, Bambozzi, Nicoletta, Panchuk & Schwerdt

Non-type female of Grammostola australis, and the basis for the FIRST DESCRIPTION OF THE FEMALE of this species, 77 years after it was named from males alone. Total body length 48.29 mm.

CERZOS-UNS M1140, M1393, M1394 ♂ Argentina

Bardas del Norte, General Roca, Rio Negro

November 2023 · col. Allegue, Bambozzi, Nicoletta, Panchuk & Schwerdt

Three males of Grammostola australis from near the type locality, part of the material behind the molecular analysis.

Genitalia

Spermathecae © Nicoletta et al. (2025), fig. 4F, spermatheca of the non-type female CERZOS-UNS M1335, the first female of the species to be described

Taxonomic History

1948
Grammostola australis Gerschman & Schiapelli, 1948, described from two males. Bücherl (1951) downgraded it to a subspecies, G. spatulata australis. Schiapelli & Gerschman (1961) then synonymised it with G. inermis Mello-Leitão, 1941, where it stayed for 64 years. Nicoletta, Ferretti, Soresi & Pérez-Miles (2025) resurrected it (syn. resurr.) on combined morphological and molecular evidence, redescribed both holotypes, and described the female for the first time.

Bibliography (1)

Nicoletta, M., Ferretti, N., Soresi, D. & Pérez-Miles, F. (2025). Resurrection of Grammostola australis (Araneae: Theraphosidae) after seven decades: integrating molecular data, morphology, and distribution. Zoosystematica Rossica 34(2): 231-249.