Looking at photos of P. sp 'Platyomma' and P. sp 'Machalla' I can't help thinking it is the same species. Trying to find any real info is proving difficult, but there seems to be alot of confusion surrounding the Pamphobeteus genus. Much like Hysterocrates. Given that, it seems probable that they might in fact be the same species.

Can anyone with experience on the 2 species shed some light. Is there in fact any visible difference between the two?

as slings most pamps (except for fortis) look very simular
but as they start to get bigger they start to look different.
most pamp females look pretty identical. with regards to
platyomma and spec machalla females they very different. i have
both females. spec machalla and nigricolour on the other hand look
pretty identical. i will post pic of all my females sometime in the week.

Ok, let me just make sure we're on the same page. You're saying the slings of the colourful varieties all look similar and that females of machalla and platyomma look different. Does that mean that there is little difference between the males of those 2 species? Also, Machalla and Nigricolor females look almost identical?

If I got that right, then I have to assume that hybridisation is fairly common in this genus?

It would be great to see some photos of your females Dave. Do you have any males you could post pics of? I think part of my confusion might be due to the unreliability of google images.

Are there any key indicators to seperate the various species? Especially amongst the slings.

Thanks!

ya, al the sling are blue with the christmas tree pattern.

the males are different colours, platyomma is pink
nigricolour is a purple/blue colour, spec machalla is
purple. iv got a mature male platyomma that is on its last legs
but he is still pink.

collectors that have a few different species of pamps would
agree that most pamps are a dark blue to a brown colour.
ill post all my females and u see wat i mean.

theres a encyclopedia that has a section with tarantulas. they show
about 10 different species of pamps and 80% are brown.

ill post everything sometime this week to try clear up wat
im talking about.

Thanks Dave, much appreciated.

I've done a little more research, and from what i can gather, nobody really knows what the hell they have.

On www.pamphobeteus.com , this sling (listed as a Pamphobeteus sp. goliath equador) looks exactly like the "playomma" sling I have.

www.bunker24.com/Pamphobeteus-com/Ecuado...s-spec-goliathsl.jpg