Update in taxonomy and biogeography of Brazillian species of tarantula (Grammostola)

The genus Grammostola comprises species of tarantulas with homogeneous morphological characteristics that were used to delimit the species many years ago. This practice resulted in great confusion about the taxonomic classification of the group, mainly in the Brazilian species. After 100 years we used an integrative approach to redescribe and update the taxonomy of G. pulchra, a species from the Pampa biome in southern Brazil. We describe and illustrated morphological features for the first time in this species, including one genital structure that had never detected before in the genus. According to molecular analysis, G. pulchra is a valid species closely related to G. burzaquensis and G. anthracina. We hope that this work can retake taxonomic approaches with pampean tarantulas in Brazil and contribute to the revision of Grammostola.

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