Subject: What kind of spider is this?
Geographic location of the bug: Peru-Machu Picchu
Date: 08/29/2021
Time: 05:48 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: Hi! I saw the spider pictured in my photo on a rock at Machu Picchu in late August.
How you want your letter signed: Melinda
Dear Melinda,
This is a primitive spider in the Infraorder Mygalomorphae, a group that includes Tarantulas and Trapdoor Spiders. Your individual does not look hairy enough to be a Tarantula, so we suspect it is a Trapdoor Spider. We did try to locate matching images online with no luck, though we searched for both Tarantulas and Trapdoor Spiders in Peru.
Update: Linothele uniformis
A special thanks to Cesar Crash of Insetologia who wrote in identifying this Mygalomorph as a Funnel Web Spider, Linothele uniformis, and providing this link to Science Press.
I think it’s Linothele uniformis, a new species, or close to it. They are funnel weavers.
https://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/en/periodiques/zoosystema/43/10
As always Cesar, your input is greatly appreciated.