Nhandu sylviae Sherwood, Gabriel & Brescovit, 2023

Described by Ray Gabriel, Antonio Domingos Brescovit, Danniella Sherwood

♀ Female described ♂ Male described

Type Locality and Records

Type locality

Original Description

Sherwood, D., Gabriel, R. & Brescovit, A. D. (2023). Nhandu sylviae sp. nov.: first record of the genus from Guyana (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Arachnology 19(4): 708-712.

Distribution

Guyana

Type Locality: Alto Takutu/Alto Essequibo, near Isherton

Etymology

The specific epithet is a matronym in honour of Sylvia Lucas (Instituto Butantan), the doyenne of Brazilian mygalomorph research, for her exceptional contributions to the field for over fifty years, and in recognition of her years of loyal friendship and

Taxonomic History

Restored. Bertani (2023) synonymised this species with Vitalius sorocabae (Mello-Leitão, 1923) without examining the type material. Sherwood et al. (2026) reject the synonymy and revalidate the name.
They also correct themselves in the same paragraph: their 2023 description claimed the first record of Nhandu north of the Amazon, but an earlier record exists in Bertani (2001) — a point Bertani (2023) had himself overlooked.

Bibliography (2)

Sherwood, D., Gabriel, R. & Brescovit, A. D. (2023). Nhandu sylviae sp. nov.: first record of the genus from Guyana (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Arachnology 19(4): 708-712.

Sherwood, D., Gabriel, R., Peñaherrera-R., P. J., Brescovit, A. D. & Lucas, S. M. (2026). Redescription of Nhandu chromatus Schmidt, 2004 stat. rest. and revalidation of Nhandu sylviae Sherwood, Gabriel & Brescovit, 2023 stat. rest. (Araneae: Theraphosidae). Arachnology 20 (4): 519-526.