Before the era of genetics and molecular phylogeny, tarantulas were classified based on the presence or absence of physical traits and characteristics. However, tarantulas happen to be excessively homoplastic, meaning the same seemingly unique characteristics have evolved separately rather than from a common ancestor, leading to many misplacements and misidentifications, and this genus is no different.
In 2018, a molecular study and phylogenetic analysis by Ortiz, Francke, and Bond aimed to create a timeline in the evolution of Bonnetina and to address possible monophyly in the genus. They sampled DNA from select taxa, sequencing five nuclear markers and one mitochondrial marker, concluding that Bonnetina was composed of unrelated species that simply shared physical attributes, with the exception of B. juxtantricola. Only the sexual features were observed not to be homoplastic, suggesting that sexual selection may have been a driving force in their divergence.[3]
Species
As of December 2019[update] it contains sixteen species, all found in Mexico:[1]
^Vol, F. (2000). "Description de Bonnetina cyaneifemur, gen. n. & sp. n. (Araneae, Theraphosidae, Theraphosinae) du Mexique". Arachnides. 44: 2–9.
^Ortiz, D.; Francke, O.F.; Bond, J.E. (October 2018). "A tangle of forms and phylogeny: Extensive morphological homoplasy and molecular clock heterogeneity in Bonnetina and related tarantulas". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 127: 55–73. Bibcode:2018MolPE.127...55O. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.05.013. PMID29778724. S2CID29152043.
